Where District of Columbia Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 27.6% | 56 GWh |
| Coal | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Solar | 26.5% | 54 GWh |
| Hydro | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Other | 45.9% | 93 GWh |
0.2 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 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 434 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 26.5% to 76.6%.
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 supplied the largest share of District of Columbia's electricity generation at 45.9% in the trailing twelve months from September 2025 to August 2026, followed by gas at 27.6% and solar at 26.5%. The renewable share reached 50.1%, putting it 12th among the 50 states and DC. Within that renewable total, utility-scale solar alone accounted for 26.5%, though including rooftop solar raises the combined share to 76.6%. The carbon-free share matched the renewable share at 50.1%, while fossil fuels supplied just 27.6%.
Across the years from 2001 to 2025, the generation mix transformed dramatically. In 2001, other sources made up the entire generation at 100%. By 2025, other sources had fallen to 39.4%, while solar surged to 25.3% and gas grew to 35.3%. Renewable generation went from zero to 51.8% in 2025. This reshaping reflects a fundamental shift in how the district generates electricity.
The renewable share is notably higher than the national average of 25.4%, a difference of 24.7 percentage points. Nationally, natural gas led at 40.9%, compared to the district's 27.6%, while solar ranked lower at 7.6%. Both Virginia and Maryland, the district's bordering states, have renewable shares substantially lower than the district's, at 13.9% and 11% respectively, with natural gas as their largest source in both cases.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 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 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.