Where Kentucky Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, July 2025 – June 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 27.0% | 19,561 GWh |
| Coal | 64.1% | 46,452 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Solar | 3.0% | 2,205 GWh |
| Hydro | 5.2% | 3,744 GWh |
| Other | 0.7% | 508 GWh |
72.5 TWh generated over the 12 months to June 2026. Shares are of net generation within Kentucky, 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. Kentucky generated 191 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 3.0% to 3.3%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 0.7% | 25.9% | +25.2 pts |
| Coal | 95.2% | 66.0% | −29.1 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Solar | 0.0% | 2.1% | +2.1 pts |
| Hydro | 4.0% | 5.3% | +1.2 pts |
| Other | 0.1% | 0.7% | +0.6 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Kentucky's generation mix in context
Coal supplied 64.3% of Kentucky's electricity generation from June 2025 to May 2026, making it by far the largest source. Gas accounted for 26.8%, while renewables and carbon-free sources together generated 8.6% of the total. Solar contributed 2.9% from utility-scale installations, or 3.1% when small-scale rooftop solar is included. Hydropower made up 5.2%, and other sources provided the remaining 0.7%.
Kentucky's renewable share of 8.6% ranks 41st among the 51 states and DC, trailing the national figure of 24.9% by 16.3 percentage points. Its coal share of 64.3% far exceeds the national average of 15.8%. Gas, at 26.8%, falls below the national share of 40.8%. Most neighbouring states generate higher renewable shares than Kentucky; only Ohio at 8.1% and West Virginia at 5.9% fall below it.
The generation mix has shifted markedly since 2001. Coal's share dropped from 95.2% in 2001 to 66% in 2025, while gas expanded from 0.7% to 25.9% over that span. Renewable generation rose from 4.1% in 2001 to 8% in 2025, driven primarily by solar's emergence from zero to 2.1%. Hydropower increased slightly from 4% to 5.3%, while nuclear and wind remained absent throughout.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Kentucky's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Kentucky's power comes from solar?
›Where does Kentucky get most of its electricity?
›Does Kentucky still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Kentucky 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.