Where Idaho Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, June 2025 – May 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 25.5% | 5,619 GWh |
| Coal | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 14.1% | 3,106 GWh |
| Solar | 8.0% | 1,762 GWh |
| Hydro | 49.7% | 10,958 GWh |
| Other | 2.8% | 617 GWh |
22.1 TWh generated over the 12 months to May 2026. Shares are of net generation within Idaho, 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. Idaho generated 323 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 8.0% to 9.3%.
How the mix has shifted since 2016
| Source | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 21.2% | 27.5% | +6.3 pts |
| Coal | 0.2% | 0.0% | −0.2 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 16.5% | 14.9% | −1.5 pts |
| Solar | 0.2% | 7.8% | +7.6 pts |
| Hydro | 57.7% | 46.8% | −10.9 pts |
| Other | 4.3% | 3.0% | −1.3 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Idaho's generation mix in context
Hydropower supplied 49.7% of Idaho's electricity generation in the twelve months through May 2026, making it by far the state's largest source. Wind contributed 14.1%, and solar accounted for 8.0% of utility-scale generation, or 9.3% when rooftop solar is included. Together, renewable sources generated 74.3% of the state's electricity, the same as its carbon-free share since fossil fuels made up the remaining 25.5%, all from natural gas.
Idaho's renewable share ranks fourth among the 51 states and DC with generation data, well above the national average of 24.9%. Only Washington, among its six bordering states, generated a higher renewable share at 77.1%; the others ranged from Oregon's 68.0% down to Utah's 22.6%. Solar ranked sixteenth nationally, growing substantially over the decade to reach 7.8% of generation in 2025.
The past ten years brought significant shifts in Idaho's mix. Hydropower fell from 57.7% in 2016 to 46.8% in 2025, a decline of 10.9 percentage points. Gas rose by 6.3 points to 27.5%, and solar surged from 0.2% to 7.8%, an increase of 7.6 points. Wind edged down from 16.5% to 14.9%. Despite these changes, Idaho's overall renewable share slipped only slightly, from 78.2% to 72.2%, reflecting growth in solar that partly offset the contraction in hydro.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Idaho's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Idaho's power comes from solar?
›Where does Idaho get most of its electricity?
›Does Idaho still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Idaho 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 May 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.