Where District of Columbia Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, July 2025 – June 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 26.0% | 51 GWh |
| Coal | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Solar | 28.0% | 55 GWh |
| Hydro | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Other | 46.0% | 90 GWh |
0.2 TWh generated over the 12 months to June 2026. Shares are of net generation within District of Columbia, 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. District of Columbia generated 406 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 28.0% to 76.7%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 0.0% | 35.3% | +35.3 pts |
| Coal | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Solar | 0.0% | 25.3% | +25.3 pts |
| Hydro | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Other | 100.0% | 39.4% | −60.6 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
District of Columbia's generation mix in context
Other sources, a category holding geothermal, biomass, petroleum, other gases and pumped storage, supplied 42.4% of the electricity generated in the District of Columbia since June 2025. Gas accounted for 30.1%, while solar made up 27.5% of generation from utility-scale facilities alone; counting rooftop solar on both sides of the ratio raises the share to 76.0%. The district generated 0.2 TWh during this twelve-month period.
Renewables—including wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass—reached 53.1% of generation, the same as the carbon-free share since neither coal nor nuclear supplied any electricity. This renewable share ranks third among all states and DC, and runs 28.2 percentage points higher than the national average of 24.9%. Both Virginia and Maryland, which border the district, depend far more heavily on fossil fuels, with renewable shares of 13.7% and 10.8% respectively.
Since 2001, the mix has transformed completely. In 2001, other sources provided all the generation. By 2025, solar had grown to 25.3% of the calendar-year total, gas had climbed to 35.3%, and other sources had fallen to 39.4%. Renewables as a whole grew from nothing to 51.8% in 2025. Nationally, renewables accounted for just 24.9%, and gas led with 40.8% of a much larger generation base.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of District of Columbia's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of District of Columbia's power comes from solar?
›Where does District of Columbia get most of its electricity?
›Does District of Columbia still burn coal for electricity?
›Is District of Columbia 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.