Where Iowa Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, June 2025 – May 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 11.4% | 8,568 GWh |
| Coal | 26.9% | 20,193 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 57.8% | 43,320 GWh |
| Solar | 1.8% | 1,315 GWh |
| Hydro | 1.8% | 1,318 GWh |
| Other | 0.4% | 286 GWh |
75 TWh generated over the 12 months to May 2026. Shares are of net generation within Iowa, 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. Iowa generated 584 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 1.8% to 2.5%.
How the mix has shifted since 2016
| Source | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 5.4% | 11.7% | +6.3 pts |
| Coal | 46.3% | 25.7% | −20.6 pts |
| Nuclear | 8.6% | 0.0% | −8.6 pts |
| Wind | 36.9% | 58.9% | +22.0 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 1.8% | +1.7 pts |
| Hydro | 1.7% | 1.4% | −0.3 pts |
| Other | 1.0% | 0.5% | −0.5 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Iowa's generation mix in context
Wind dominates Iowa's electricity generation, supplying 57.8% of the state's output in the twelve months through May 2026. Coal is the second-largest source at 26.9%, followed by gas at 11.4%. Solar accounts for 1.8% of utility-scale generation, or 2.5% when rooftop solar is included. Together, renewables make up 61.5% of the state's generation, placing it seventh among the 51 states and DC with generation data. Iowa's carbon-free generation is also 61.5%, as the state has no nuclear capacity.
Over the decade since 2016, Iowa's generation mix has shifted dramatically. Renewables grew from 39.1% to 62.4% in 2025, a gain of 23.3 percentage points. Wind expanded from 36.9% to 58.9% in 2025, driving nearly all of this growth. Coal's share collapsed from 46.3% to 25.7% in 2025, a loss of 20.6 percentage points. Nuclear, which accounted for 8.6% in 2016, has since ceased generation. Solar emerged from zero, reaching 1.8% by 2025.
Iowa's renewable share far exceeds the national average of 24.9%, by 36.6 percentage points. Among its six bordering states, only South Dakota surpasses Iowa's renewable generation at 81.7%; the other five—Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri—all fall below it. Iowa's reliance on wind sets it apart regionally, as does the near-total absence of coal from its newer peers.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Iowa's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Iowa's power comes from solar?
›Where does Iowa get most of its electricity?
›Does Iowa still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Iowa 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.