Where Louisiana Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 70.9% | 76,548 GWh |
| Coal | 4.9% | 5,341 GWh |
| Nuclear | 16.6% | 17,897 GWh |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Solar | 2.6% | 2,813 GWh |
| Hydro | 0.8% | 878 GWh |
| Other | 4.2% | 4,552 GWh |
108 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Louisiana, 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. Louisiana generated 393 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 2.6% to 3.0%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 45.9% | 72.1% | +26.2 pts |
| Coal | 25.0% | 5.4% | −19.6 pts |
| Nuclear | 19.7% | 14.9% | −4.8 pts |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Solar | 0.0% | 2.3% | +2.3 pts |
| Hydro | 0.8% | 0.8% | — |
| Other | 8.5% | 4.4% | −4.1 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 5.2% | 21.7% | Natural gas 70.9% |
| U.S. average | 25.4% | 43.0% | Natural gas 40.9% |
| Texas | 34.9% | 41.4% | Natural gas |
| Arkansas | 14.8% | 35.6% | Natural gas |
| Mississippi | 6.7% | 19.8% | Natural gas |
Louisiana's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplied 70.9% of Louisiana's electricity generation in the year to August 2026, nearly 30 percentage points more than the national average of 40.9%. Nuclear provided 16.6%, hydro 0.8%, and coal 4.9%. Renewables as a whole accounted for 5.2% of generation, leaving the state's carbon-free sources at 21.7%.
The solar share was 2.6% measured as utility-scale generation alone, or 3% when rooftop solar is included. Louisiana ranked 47th of the 50 states and DC for renewable generation and 35th for solar. All three neighbouring states with generation data had higher renewable shares: Texas at 34.9%, Arkansas at 14.8%, and Mississippi at 6.7%.
Since 2001, natural gas has grown to dominate Louisiana's mix, rising from 45.9% in 2001 to 72.1% in 2025, while coal fell from 25% to 5.4% over the same span. Nuclear declined from 19.7% to 14.9%. Renewables grew from 3.9% in 2001 to 5.1% in 2025, a shift of 1.2 percentage points driven largely by solar, which rose from nothing to 2.3% in 2025.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Louisiana's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Louisiana's power comes from solar?
›Where does Louisiana get most of its electricity?
›Does Louisiana still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Louisiana 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.