Where Montana Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 4.3% | 1,207 GWh |
| Coal | 30.7% | 8,570 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 24.2% | 6,738 GWh |
| Solar | 1.1% | 299 GWh |
| Hydro | 37.4% | 10,437 GWh |
| Other | 2.3% | 640 GWh |
27.9 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Montana, 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. Montana generated 178 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 1.1% to 1.7%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 0.1% | 4.6% | +4.5 pts |
| Coal | 70.3% | 35.2% | −35.1 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 21.9% | +21.9 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 1.2% | +1.2 pts |
| Hydro | 27.3% | 34.3% | +7.1 pts |
| Other | 2.3% | 2.7% | +0.4 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 62.8% | 62.8% | Hydro 37.4% |
| U.S. average | 25.4% | 43.0% | Natural gas 40.9% |
| South Dakota | 81.8% | 81.8% | Wind |
| Idaho | 73.4% | 73.4% | Hydro |
| North Dakota | 41.0% | 41.0% | Coal |
| Wyoming | 34.4% | 34.4% | Coal |
Montana's generation mix in context
Hydropower supplied 37.4% of Montana's electricity generation in the twelve months from September 2025 to August 2026, making it the state's largest source. Wind contributed 24.2%, and coal 30.7%. Together, renewables accounted for 62.8% of generation, a share that ranked sixth among the 50 states and DC. The carbon-free share matched the renewable share at 62.8%, with no nuclear generation in the state.
Montana's generation mix has shifted markedly since 2001. The renewable share rose from 27.6% in 2001 to 57.6% in 2025, a gain of 30 percentage points. Wind generation grew from none in 2001 to 21.9% in 2025. Coal fell sharply, dropping from 70.3% in 2001 to 35.2% in 2025. Hydropower, the state's dominant source for decades, increased modestly from 27.3% to 34.3% over the same span.
Montana's renewable generation far exceeds the national average of 25.4%, leaving the state 37.4 percentage points ahead. The national mix is led by natural gas at 40.9%, whereas gas supplies only 4.3% of Montana's generation. Among the four bordering states with generation data, two have higher renewable shares—Idaho at 73.4% and South Dakota at 81.8%—while North Dakota and Wyoming both fall below Montana's 62.8%, at 41% and 34.4% respectively. Solar generation was 1.1% of output when measured as utility-scale alone, or 1.7% when rooftop solar is included, ranking 44th 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 Montana's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Montana's power comes from solar?
›Where does Montana get most of its electricity?
›Does Montana still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Montana 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.