Where North Carolina Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 41.7% | 57,881 GWh |
| Coal | 13.9% | 19,369 GWh |
| Nuclear | 30.3% | 42,081 GWh |
| Wind | 0.7% | 910 GWh |
| Solar | 9.3% | 12,915 GWh |
| Hydro | 2.8% | 3,899 GWh |
| Other | 1.4% | 1,907 GWh |
139 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 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 1,097 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 9.3% to 10.0%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 1.3% | 40.0% | +38.7 pts |
| Coal | 62.1% | 13.2% | −48.9 pts |
| Nuclear | 32.2% | 31.8% | −0.4 pts |
| Wind | 0.0% | 0.7% | +0.7 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 9.4% | +9.4 pts |
| Hydro | 2.2% | 3.4% | +1.2 pts |
| Other | 2.2% | 1.4% | −0.8 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 13.8% | 44.1% | Natural gas 41.7% |
| U.S. average | 25.4% | 43.0% | Natural gas 40.9% |
| Virginia | 13.9% | 40.7% | Natural gas |
| Tennessee | 13.0% | 58.5% | Nuclear |
| Georgia | 12.4% | 46.8% | Natural gas |
| South Carolina | 7.0% | 59.1% | Nuclear |
North Carolina's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplied 41.7% of North Carolina's electricity generation in the twelve months from September 2025 to August 2026, making it the largest source. Nuclear power was the second-largest, providing 30.3% of the total. Coal accounted for 13.9%, with renewables contributing 13.8% and carbon-free sources together making up 44.1% of the mix.
Solar generation reached 9.3% when counted as utility-scale alone, or 10% when rooftop solar is included in the total. Hydropower supplied 2.8%, while wind provided 0.7%. North Carolina ranks 15th among the 50 states and DC for solar share and 34th for renewable share. The renewable share falls 11.6 percentage points below the national average of 25.4%, while natural gas and coal generation are close to national levels.
The generation mix has shifted dramatically since 2001. Coal dropped from 62.1% in 2001 to 13.2% in 2025, a fall of 48.9 percentage points. Natural gas surged from 1.3% to 40% over the same span. Renewable generation rose from 3.7% in 2001 to 14.7% in 2025, driven chiefly by solar growth from zero to 9.4%. Among the four bordering states, Virginia has a slightly higher renewable share at 13.9%, while Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina all fall below North Carolina's renewable generation.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 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 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.