Where Nebraska Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, June 2025 – May 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 3.6% | 1,488 GWh |
| Coal | 46.5% | 19,101 GWh |
| Nuclear | 16.8% | 6,914 GWh |
| Wind | 27.9% | 11,483 GWh |
| Solar | 0.7% | 275 GWh |
| Hydro | 3.5% | 1,431 GWh |
| Other | 1.0% | 407 GWh |
41.1 TWh generated over the 12 months to May 2026. Shares are of net generation within Nebraska, 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. Nebraska generated 66 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 0.7% to 0.8%.
How the mix has shifted since 2016
| Source | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 1.5% | 3.2% | +1.7 pts |
| Coal | 60.0% | 45.6% | −14.4 pts |
| Nuclear | 25.6% | 17.2% | −8.4 pts |
| Wind | 10.4% | 29.1% | +18.7 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 0.6% | +0.6 pts |
| Hydro | 2.3% | 2.9% | +0.5 pts |
| Other | 0.2% | 1.3% | +1.1 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Nebraska's generation mix in context
Coal supplied 46.5% of Nebraska's electricity generation in the trailing twelve months since June 2025, making it the largest source. Nuclear provided 16.8%, while wind contributed 27.9%. Solar accounted for 0.7% of generation on a utility-scale basis, or 0.8% when rooftop solar is included. Hydropower made up 3.5%, natural gas 3.6%, and other sources 1.0%.
Renewable sources generated 32.2% of the state's electricity, ranking 21st among the 51 states and DC with generation data. Carbon-free generation—renewables plus nuclear—reached 49.0%, compared with the national average of 42.6%. This puts Nebraska 7.3 percentage points above the nation in renewable share. Solar ranked 46th among the states.
Over the past decade, Nebraska's generation mix shifted substantially. Renewable generation grew from 13.0% in 2016 to 32.8% in 2025, driven almost entirely by wind, which expanded from 10.4% to 29.1%. Coal fell from 60.0% to 45.6%, and nuclear declined from 25.6% to 17.2%. Of Nebraska's five bordering states with higher renewable shares, all generate more renewables than Nebraska, with South Dakota leading at 81.7%. Only Missouri, among its neighbors, relies less on renewables at 14.7%.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Nebraska's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Nebraska's power comes from solar?
›Where does Nebraska get most of its electricity?
›Does Nebraska still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Nebraska 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 May 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.