Where Arkansas Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, July 2025 – June 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 37.2% | 25,289 GWh |
| Coal | 28.1% | 19,081 GWh |
| Nuclear | 20.7% | 14,075 GWh |
| Wind | 0.6% | 420 GWh |
| Solar | 7.8% | 5,271 GWh |
| Hydro | 4.3% | 2,891 GWh |
| Other | 1.4% | 934 GWh |
68 TWh generated over the 12 months to June 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 611 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 7.8% to 8.6%.
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 is the largest source of electricity generation in Arkansas, supplying 37% of the total since June 2025. Coal and nuclear together make up nearly half the state's generation, at 28.2% and 20.9% respectively. Solar accounts for 7.6% of generation on a utility-scale basis, or 8.4% when rooftop solar is included. Renewables as a whole—wind, solar, hydro, and the renewable content of other sources—represent 13.8% of the state's electricity generation, placing it 32nd among the 51 states and DC with generation data. Carbon-free sources, which add nuclear to the renewable total, reach 34.6%.
Arkansas generates a notably higher share from coal than the nation does, at 28.2% versus 15.8% nationally, while its gas share is slightly lower at 37% compared to 40.8% nationally. The state's renewable share of 13.8% trails the national figure of 24.9% by 11.1 percentage points. Among its six bordering states, three—Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri—have higher renewable shares, while three—Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana—have lower ones. Solar ranks 19th nationwide among the states.
The long-run shift in Arkansas's mix has been dramatic. Coal's dominance has given way to gas: coal fell from 52.5% in 2001 to 30.6% in 2025, while gas surged from 5.7% to 33.1% over the same span. Solar emerged from zero to 6.9% in 2025. Renewables overall grew from 8.6% in 2001 to 13.3% in 2025, an increase of 4.7 percentage points, though this remains well below the national renewable share.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 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 June 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.