Where Delaware Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, July 2025 – June 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 88.8% | 4,843 GWh |
| Coal | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 0.1% | 4 GWh |
| Solar | 3.8% | 208 GWh |
| Hydro | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Other | 7.4% | 402 GWh |
5.5 TWh generated over the 12 months to June 2026. Shares are of net generation within Delaware, 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. Delaware generated 237 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 3.8% to 7.8%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 23.1% | 85.3% | +62.2 pts |
| Coal | 49.5% | 4.7% | −44.8 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0.1% | +0.1 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 3.4% | +3.4 pts |
| Hydro | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Other | 27.4% | 6.5% | −20.9 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | 4.3% | 4.3% | Natural gas 88.8% |
| U.S. average | 25.2% | 42.9% | Natural gas 40.7% |
| Maryland | 10.6% | 48.8% | Natural gas |
| New Jersey | 4.4% | 49.8% | Natural gas |
| Pennsylvania | 3.9% | 34.8% | Natural gas |
Delaware's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplies 88.9% of Delaware's electricity generation in the twelve months since June 2025, far outweighing every other source. This dominance exceeds the national share of 40.8% by a wide margin. Renewable energy accounts for 4.1% of the state's generation, ranking it 49th among the 51 states and DC with generation data. Carbon-free sources also comprise 4.1%, since all of Delaware's carbon-free generation comes from renewables. Fossil fuels make up 92% of the mix.
Solar and other sources—a category holding geothermal, biomass, petroleum, other gases and pumped storage—together constitute most of the renewable contribution. When counting utility-scale solar alone, it represents 3.6% of generation; including small-scale rooftop solar raises this to 7.5%. Wind contributes just 0.1%. Delaware's renewable share trails the national average by 20.8 percentage points and ranks lower than two of its three neighbours: Maryland's renewable share is 10.8% and New Jersey's is 4.3%, while Pennsylvania's is lower at 3.8%.
The generation mix has shifted dramatically since 2001. Gas surged from 23.1% in 2001 to 85.3% in 2025, a gain of 62.2 percentage points. Coal collapsed over the same span, falling from 49.5% to 4.7%. Solar emerged from nothing to 3.4% in 2025, the only renewable source to register meaningful growth. Other sources—which accounted for 27.4% in 2001—declined to 6.5% in 2025, shedding 20.9 percentage points.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Delaware's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Delaware's power comes from solar?
›Where does Delaware get most of its electricity?
›Does Delaware still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Delaware 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.