Where Michigan Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 45.8% | 57,391 GWh |
| Coal | 18.5% | 23,136 GWh |
| Nuclear | 20.8% | 26,101 GWh |
| Wind | 7.9% | 9,906 GWh |
| Solar | 3.4% | 4,223 GWh |
| Hydro | 1.2% | 1,481 GWh |
| Other | 2.5% | 3,084 GWh |
125.3 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Michigan, 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. Michigan generated 471 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 3.4% to 3.7%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 11.8% | 41.5% | +29.8 pts |
| Coal | 61.0% | 22.9% | −38.1 pts |
| Nuclear | 23.9% | 21.5% | −2.4 pts |
| Wind | 0.0% | 7.9% | +7.9 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 2.2% | +2.2 pts |
| Hydro | 1.4% | 1.0% | −0.4 pts |
| Other | 1.9% | 2.9% | +1.0 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Michigan's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplies 45.8% of Michigan's electricity generation, making it by far the largest source. This share exceeds the national average of 40.9% by 4.9 percentage points. Nuclear power ranks second at 20.8%, while coal contributes 18.5% of the total. Together, carbon-free sources account for 34.9% of generation, compared with 43% nationally. Renewable energy, including wind, solar, hydro and other sources like geothermal and biomass, comprises 14.1% of the mix—11.3 percentage points below the national renewable share of 25.4%. Solar accounts for 3.4% of generation on a utility-scale basis, or 3.7% when rooftop solar is included in both numerator and denominator.
The generation mix has shifted substantially since 2001. Coal's share collapsed from 61% to 22.9% in 2025, while natural gas surged from 11.8% to 41.5% over the same span. Renewable generation climbed from 3.5% in 2001 to 12.7% in 2025, driven largely by wind, which grew from nothing to 7.9%, and solar, which rose from zero to 2.2%. Nuclear's contribution has remained relatively stable, declining slightly from 23.9% to 21.5%. Michigan ranks 32nd of the 50 states and DC for renewable share and also ranks 32nd for solar.
Among Michigan's three bordering states, two—Indiana and Wisconsin—generate higher renewable shares. Indiana leads at 18.4%, while Wisconsin's renewable share stands at 14.8%. Ohio, by contrast, ranks lower at 8.4% renewable generation, relying more heavily on coal than its neighbors.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Michigan's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Michigan's power comes from solar?
›Where does Michigan get most of its electricity?
›Does Michigan still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Michigan 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.