Where North Dakota Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 5.6% | 2,484 GWh |
| Coal | 53.3% | 23,788 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 35.6% | 15,898 GWh |
| Solar | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Hydro | 5.4% | 2,390 GWh |
| Other | 0.2% | 90 GWh |
44.7 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within North Dakota, 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 Dakota generated 4 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 0.0% to 0.0%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 0.0% | 5.1% | +5.0 pts |
| Coal | 95.2% | 53.1% | −42.1 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 36.2% | +36.2 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Hydro | 4.4% | 5.2% | +0.8 pts |
| Other | 0.4% | 0.5% | +0.1 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 41.0% | 41.0% | Coal 53.3% |
| U.S. average | 25.4% | 43.0% | Natural gas 40.9% |
| South Dakota | 81.8% | 81.8% | Wind |
| Montana | 62.8% | 62.8% | Hydro |
| Minnesota | 35.0% | 57.6% | Wind |
North Dakota's generation mix in context
Coal supplies 53.3% of North Dakota's electricity generation, the largest source in the state's mix over the trailing twelve months since September 2025. Wind ranks second at 35.6%, followed by hydro at 5.4% and gas at 5.6%. Renewable sources account for 41% of generation, placing the state 16th of the 50 states and DC with generation data. Carbon-free sources, which include renewables and nuclear, also represent 41% of the total.
The state's generation mix has shifted dramatically since 2001. Coal has fallen from 95.2% to 53.1% in 2025, a decline of 42.1 percentage points, while wind has grown from nothing to 36.2% over the same period. Hydro has remained relatively stable, rising slightly from 4.4% to 5.2%. The renewable share overall has climbed from 4.4% in 2001 to 41.3% in 2025, a gain of 36.9 percentage points.
North Dakota's renewable share exceeds the national average of 25.4% by 15.6 percentage points, and its coal share of 53.3% far outpaces the national figure of 15.4%. By contrast, gas supplies 5.6% of the state's generation compared with 40.9% nationally. Among its three bordering states, two—South Dakota and Montana—generate higher renewable shares at 81.8% and 62.8% respectively, while Minnesota's renewable share of 35% is lower than North Dakota's.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of North Dakota's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of North Dakota's power comes from solar?
›Where does North Dakota get most of its electricity?
›Does North Dakota still burn coal for electricity?
›Is North Dakota 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.