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Where California Gets Its Electricity

Name: California Electricity Generation by Fuel Source
Creator: U.S. Energy Information Administration
License: https://www.eia.gov/about/copyrights_reuse.php

Net generation by source · 12-month average, July 2025 – June 2026.

Renewable

57.8%

9th highest of 51

Carbon-free

67.1%

Renewables plus nuclear

Largest source

Natural gas

33.2%

Generation mix

33%

29%

13%

California electricity generation by source, July 2025 – June 2026
Source	Share	Generation
Natural gas	33.2%	65,560 GWh
Coal	0.1%	131 GWh
Nuclear	9.3%	18,377 GWh
Wind	8.2%	16,145 GWh
Solar	28.8%	56,877 GWh
Hydro	13.3%	26,311 GWh
Other	7.2%	14,192 GWh

197.6 TWh generated over the 12 months to June 2026. Shares are of net generation within California, which is not the same as what the state consumes — power crosses state lines.

Counting rooftop solar

Utility-scale solar

28.8%

Including rooftop

39.9%

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. California generated 36,493 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 28.8% to 39.9%.

How the mix has shifted since 2001

Share of generation by source in 2001 and 2025
Source	2001	2025	Change
Natural gas	56.4%	35.6%	−20.7 pts
Coal	1.1%	0.1%	−1.0 pts
Nuclear	16.7%	8.5%	−8.2 pts
Wind	1.8%	7.9%	+6.1 pts
Solar	0.3%	27.0%	+26.7 pts
Hydro	12.9%	13.5%	+0.7 pts
Other	10.9%	7.3%	−3.6 pts

Compared with the U.S. and nearby states

Where	Renewable	Carbon-free	Largest source
California	57.8%	67.1%	Natural gas 33.2%
U.S. average	25.2%	42.9%	Natural gas 40.7%
Oregon	68.3%	68.3%	Hydro
Nevada	43.8%	43.8%	Natural gas
Arizona	22.1%	48.6%	Natural gas

California's generation mix in context

Natural gas supplied 33.8% of California's electricity generation in the twelve months ending May 2026, making it the largest source. Solar ranked second as a source, generating 28.4% when counted at utility scale alone, or 39.4% when small-scale rooftop solar is included in the total. Hydroelectric power generated 13.3%, nuclear 9.2%, wind 8%, and other sources 7.2%. Together, renewable sources provided 57.3% of generation, while carbon-free sources (renewables plus nuclear) reached 66.5%.

California's renewable share ranked ninth among the 51 states and DC with generation data, and its solar share ranked second. Compared with the nation, California generated far less fossil fuel electricity — gas supplied 7 percentage points less of the total, and coal just 0.1% against the national figure of 15.8%. The renewable share was 32.4 percentage points above the national average of 24.9%. Of its three bordering states, only Oregon had a higher renewable share at 68%, while Nevada and Arizona both fell below California at 43.7% and 21.8%.

Across the years from 2001 to 2025, California's generation mix shifted dramatically. The renewable share grew from 23.8% in 2001 to 55.8% in 2025, driven overwhelmingly by solar, which rose from 0.3% to 27%. Wind grew from 1.8% to 7.9%, while hydro held relatively steady. Gas fell from 56.4% in 2001 to 35.6% in 2025, nuclear declined from 16.7% to 8.5%, and coal dropped from 1.1% to 0.1%.

Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.

Frequently asked questions

›What percentage of California's electricity comes from renewable energy?

57.8% of the electricity generated in California comes from renewable sources — wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass — over the 12 months to June 2026. That compares with 25.2% nationally. Counting nuclear as well, 67.1% of California's generation is carbon-free.

›What percentage of California's power comes from solar?

Utility-scale solar farms supply 28.8% of California's electricity generation. Adding small-scale rooftop solar, which EIA reports separately and leaves out of the state total, takes it to 39.9%. Nationally, utility-scale solar is 7.3%.

›Where does California get most of its electricity?

Natural gas is the largest single source of electricity generated in California, at 33.2% of the total. The rest breaks down as nuclear 9.3%, wind 8.2%, solar 28.8%, hydro 13.3%, other 7.2%.

›Does California still burn coal for electricity?

Effectively no. Coal accounts for 0.1% of electricity generated in California, against 15.6% nationally.

›Is California getting greener?

Renewables have gone from 23.8% of California's generation in 2001 to 55.8% in 2025, a rise of 32.0 percentage points. Over the same period coal went from 1.1% to 0.1% and natural gas from 56.4% to 35.6%.

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.