Where Arkansas Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 36.6% | 24,843 GWh |
| Coal | 27.6% | 18,723 GWh |
| Nuclear | 20.8% | 14,088 GWh |
| Wind | 0.8% | 542 GWh |
| Solar | 8.2% | 5,540 GWh |
| Hydro | 4.6% | 3,128 GWh |
| Other | 1.4% | 944 GWh |
67.8 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Arkansas, which is not the same as what the state consumes — power crosses state lines.
Counting rooftop solar
EIA reports small-scale solar — mostly rooftop panels on homes and businesses — separately, and leaves it out of the state generation total that the mix above is a share of. Arkansas generated 633 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 8.2% to 9.0%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 5.7% | 33.1% | +27.4 pts |
| Coal | 52.5% | 30.6% | −21.9 pts |
| Nuclear | 31.3% | 22.8% | −8.5 pts |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0.3% | +0.3 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 6.9% | +6.9 pts |
| Hydro | 5.4% | 4.8% | −0.6 pts |
| Other | 5.1% | 1.5% | −3.5 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Arkansas's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplies 36.6% of Arkansas's electricity generation, the largest source. Carbon-free sources—nuclear and renewables together—account for 35.6%, below the national figure of 43%. Renewable generation, at 14.8%, ranks 31st among the 50 states and DC. Solar makes up much of the renewable share; utility-scale solar alone provides 8.2%, and including rooftop solar the figure rises to 9%.
Arkansas generates substantially more coal-fired electricity than the nation overall. Coal provides 27.6% of the state's generation compared with 15.4% nationally, a difference of 12.2 percentage points. The mix has shifted markedly since 2001. Gas rose from 5.7% in 2001 to 33.1% in 2025, while coal fell from 52.5% to 30.6% over the same span. Solar grew from zero to 6.9% in 2025, and renewable generation overall increased from 8.6% to 13.3%.
Among its six bordering states, Arkansas sits in the middle for renewable generation. Three neighbours—Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri—generate higher renewable shares. Three others—Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana—generate lower shares. Oklahoma leads its peers with wind as its largest source and a renewable share of 49.5%, while Louisiana ranks last among the six at 5.2%..
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Arkansas's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Arkansas's power comes from solar?
›Where does Arkansas get most of its electricity?
›Does Arkansas still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Arkansas getting greener?
How this is measured
Figures are net generation reported to the U.S. Energy Information Administration for all sectors — utilities, independent power producers, and industrial and commercial plants that generate their own power. Shares are of the 12 months to August 2026, rather than a single month, because generation is strongly seasonal: solar peaks in summer and hydro with the spring melt, so one month says more about the weather than about the grid.
“Other” is the reported total minus the six named sources, so the shares add to exactly 100%. It holds geothermal, biomass, petroleum, other gases, and pumped storage — the last of which consumes more electricity than it returns, and so can be negative. Geothermal and biomass are renewable, which is why the renewable share above is slightly larger than wind, solar and hydro added together.
This is generation, not consumption. Electricity crosses state lines freely, so a state can generate more than it uses or rely on imports for a large part of its supply; neither shows up here.