Where North Carolina Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, June 2025 – May 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 41.5% | 56,913 GWh |
| Coal | 13.1% | 18,042 GWh |
| Nuclear | 30.7% | 42,143 GWh |
| Wind | 0.7% | 906 GWh |
| Solar | 9.5% | 13,000 GWh |
| Hydro | 3.1% | 4,283 GWh |
| Other | 1.4% | 1,974 GWh |
137.3 TWh generated over the 12 months to May 2026. Shares are of net generation within North Carolina, 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. North Carolina generated 1,064 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 9.5% to 10.2%.
How the mix has shifted since 2016
| Source | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 30.0% | 40.0% | +10.0 pts |
| Coal | 28.6% | 13.2% | −15.4 pts |
| Nuclear | 32.7% | 31.8% | −0.9 pts |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0.7% | +0.7 pts |
| Solar | 2.6% | 9.4% | +6.8 pts |
| Hydro | 3.4% | 3.4% | +0.1 pts |
| Other | 2.6% | 1.4% | −1.2 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 14.3% | 45.0% | Natural gas 41.5% |
| U.S. average | 24.9% | 42.6% | Natural gas 40.8% |
| Virginia | 13.7% | 40.4% | Natural gas |
| Georgia | 12.5% | 47.2% | Natural gas |
| Tennessee | 12.5% | 57.8% | Nuclear |
| South Carolina | 7.3% | 59.8% | Nuclear |
North Carolina's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplied 41.5% of North Carolina's electricity generation in the twelve months through May 2026, making it the largest source. Nuclear power accounted for 30.7%, while coal contributed 13.1%. Together, carbon-free sources—nuclear and renewables—made up 45.0% of the state's generation. Renewables alone supplied 14.3%, ranking the state 31st among the 51 states and DC with generation data.
Solar was the largest renewable source, generating 9.5% of total electricity when counted as utility-scale alone, or 10.2% when rooftop solar is included. Wind contributed 0.7%, hydro 3.1%, and other renewable and non-renewable sources made up the remaining 1.4%. North Carolina's renewable share of 14.3% was 10.6 percentage points below the national average of 24.9%, though its 14th-place ranking in solar generation stood notably higher than most peers. All four bordering states—Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina—generated smaller renewable shares than North Carolina.
Over the decade from 2016 to 2025, North Carolina's generation mix shifted sharply. Coal fell from 28.6% in 2016 to 13.2% in 2025, while natural gas rose from 30.0% to 40.0%. Solar expanded dramatically, growing from 2.6% in 2016 to 9.4% in 2025. Wind emerged as a source in this period, reaching 0.7% in 2025 after generating nothing ten years earlier. Nuclear remained stable, declining slightly from 32.7% to 31.8%. Renewables as a whole grew from 8.0% in 2016 to 14.7% in 2025, a gain of 6.7 percentage points.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of North Carolina's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of North Carolina's power comes from solar?
›Where does North Carolina get most of its electricity?
›Does North Carolina still burn coal for electricity?
›Is North Carolina 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.