Where North Carolina Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, July 2025 – June 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 41.2% | 56,480 GWh |
| Coal | 13.4% | 18,417 GWh |
| Nuclear | 30.7% | 42,136 GWh |
| Wind | 0.7% | 929 GWh |
| Solar | 9.5% | 13,026 GWh |
| Hydro | 3.1% | 4,191 GWh |
| Other | 1.4% | 1,954 GWh |
137.1 TWh generated over the 12 months to June 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 1,076 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 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 | 14.3% | 45.0% | Natural gas 41.2% |
| U.S. average | 25.2% | 42.9% | Natural gas 40.7% |
| Virginia | 13.8% | 40.3% | Natural gas |
| Tennessee | 12.5% | 58.6% | Nuclear |
| Georgia | 12.5% | 47.0% | Natural gas |
| 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 trailing twelve months to May 2026, making it the largest source. Nuclear power ranked second at 30.7%, followed by solar at 9.5% on a utility-scale basis, or 10.2% when rooftop solar is included. Together, carbon-free sources—nuclear and renewables—accounted for 45.0% of the state's generation, while fossil fuels supplied 54.7%.
Renewable energy represented 14.3% of the mix, ranking 31st among all states and the District of Columbia. Solar alone ranked 14th nationally. This renewable share lagged the national average of 24.9% by 10.6 percentage points, and all four bordering states generated a smaller renewable share than North Carolina, though most rely on different largest sources: Virginia and Georgia lead with natural gas, while Tennessee and South Carolina lead with nuclear power.
Over the long run since 2001, North Carolina's generation profile has transformed dramatically. Coal collapsed from 62.1% in 2001 to 13.2% in 2025, a decline of 48.9 percentage points, while natural gas surged from 1.3% to 40.0%. Renewable generation expanded from 3.7% in 2001 to 14.7% in 2025, with solar rising from zero to 9.4%, wind emerging at 0.7%, and hydroelectric output increasing modestly. Nuclear power remained stable, edging down just 0.4 percentage points to 31.8%.
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 June 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.