Where Maine Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 37.1% | 5,578 GWh |
| Coal | 0.2% | 23 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 20.1% | 3,023 GWh |
| Solar | 10.8% | 1,628 GWh |
| Hydro | 16.3% | 2,443 GWh |
| Other | 15.5% | 2,334 GWh |
15 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Maine, 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. Maine generated 1,451 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 10.8% to 18.7%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 51.4% | 37.5% | −13.9 pts |
| Coal | 2.7% | 0.2% | −2.5 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 19.4% | +19.4 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 10.4% | +10.4 pts |
| Hydro | 13.5% | 17.8% | +4.3 pts |
| Other | 32.4% | 14.7% | −17.7 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 58.6% | 58.6% | Natural gas 37.1% |
| U.S. average | 25.4% | 43.0% | Natural gas 40.9% |
| New Hampshire | 12.9% | 65.6% | Nuclear |
Maine's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplied 37.1% of Maine's electricity generation from September 2025 to August 2026, the largest source. Renewable sources generated 58.6% of the total, ranking Maine 8th of the 50 states and DC with generation data. Carbon-free generation, which includes renewables and nuclear, reached 58.6%. Solar's contribution depends on how it is measured: utility-scale solar alone accounted for 10.8%, while including rooftop solar raised the share to 18.7%, placing Maine 11th for solar.
The generation mix has shifted substantially since 2001. Wind grew from nothing to 19.4% in 2025, and solar emerged from zero to 10.4% in 2025, together becoming the second and third largest sources. Natural gas shrank from 51.4% in 2001 to 37.5% in 2025, and coal fell from 2.7% to 0.2%. Hydro increased from 13.5% to 17.8%, while other sources contracted from 32.4% to 14.7%. Renewable generation rose from 33.1% in 2001 to 59.3% in 2025, a gain of 26.2 percentage points.
Maine's renewable share of 58.6% far exceeds the national average of 25.4%, a difference of 33.2 percentage points. The state generates far less gas and far less coal than the country as a whole, which relies on coal for 15.4% of its power. Among Maine's bordering states with generation data, New Hampshire has a lower renewable share at 12.9%, relying instead on nuclear as its largest source.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Maine's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Maine's power comes from solar?
›Where does Maine get most of its electricity?
›Does Maine still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Maine 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.