Where Kansas Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 6.5% | 4,124 GWh |
| Coal | 28.0% | 17,785 GWh |
| Nuclear | 14.6% | 9,280 GWh |
| Wind | 49.3% | 31,354 GWh |
| Solar | 1.3% | 803 GWh |
| Hydro | 0.0% | 26 GWh |
| Other | 0.3% | 189 GWh |
63.6 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Kansas, 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. Kansas generated 225 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 1.3% to 1.6%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 4.4% | 6.5% | +2.1 pts |
| Coal | 71.0% | 30.7% | −40.3 pts |
| Nuclear | 23.1% | 14.7% | −8.4 pts |
| Wind | 0.1% | 47.0% | +46.9 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 0.8% | +0.8 pts |
| Hydro | 0.1% | 0.0% | — |
| Other | 1.4% | 0.3% | −1.1 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Kansas's generation mix in context
Wind dominates Kansas electricity generation, supplying 49.3% of the total in the twelve months through August 2026. Nuclear accounts for 14.6%, coal for 28%, and gas for 6.5%, with solar at 1.3% on a utility-scale basis or 1.6% when rooftop solar is included. Renewables together reach 50.7% of generation, while carbon-free sources account for 65.3%. This renewable share places Kansas 11th among the 50 states and DC, well ahead of the national average of 25.4 percentage points higher than the country as a whole.
The shift since 2001 has been dramatic. Wind generation grew from 0.1% in 2001 to 47.0% in 2025, while coal collapsed from 71% to 30.7% over the same period. Nuclear fell from 23.1% to 14.7%, and renewables as a whole rose from 0.1% in 2001 to 47.9% in 2025. Gas edged upward from 4.4% to 6.5%. Solar emerged from nothing to reach 0.8% in 2025.
Among the four neighbouring states with generation data, all four have lower renewable shares than Kansas. Oklahoma's renewables reach 49.5%, Colorado 48.7%, Nebraska 32.2%, and Missouri 15.5%. Kansas also stands apart from its neighbours in having wind as its largest source; Oklahoma shares that distinction, but Colorado and Nebraska are both dominated by other fuels. Solar ranks 41st among the 50 states and DC.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Kansas's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Kansas's power comes from solar?
›Where does Kansas get most of its electricity?
›Does Kansas still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Kansas 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.