Where Ohio Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 57.1% | 88,459 GWh |
| Coal | 21.4% | 33,210 GWh |
| Nuclear | 11.7% | 18,093 GWh |
| Wind | 2.0% | 3,086 GWh |
| Solar | 6.0% | 9,350 GWh |
| Hydro | 0.2% | 376 GWh |
| Other | 1.5% | 2,311 GWh |
154.9 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Ohio, 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. Ohio generated 692 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 6.0% to 6.5%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 0.6% | 54.7% | +54.1 pts |
| Coal | 87.3% | 24.3% | −63.0 pts |
| Nuclear | 10.9% | 11.6% | +0.8 pts |
| Wind | 0.0% | 2.0% | +2.0 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 5.4% | +5.4 pts |
| Hydro | 0.4% | 0.3% | −0.1 pts |
| Other | 0.8% | 1.7% | +0.9 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 8.4% | 20.1% | Natural gas 57.1% |
| U.S. average | 25.4% | 43.0% | Natural gas 40.9% |
| Indiana | 18.4% | 18.4% | Coal |
| Michigan | 14.1% | 34.9% | Natural gas |
| Kentucky | 9.4% | 9.4% | Coal |
| West Virginia | 5.9% | 5.9% | Coal |
| Pennsylvania | 3.9% | 34.9% | Natural gas |
Ohio's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplies 57.1% of Ohio's electricity generation, well above the national share of 40.9%. Coal ranks second at 21.4%, followed by nuclear at 11.7%. Together, natural gas and coal account for nearly four-fifths of the state's generation. Renewable sources comprise 8.4% of the mix, 17 percentage points below the national figure of 25.4%, placing Ohio 42nd of the 50 states and DC in renewable generation. Carbon-free sources—renewables and nuclear combined—supply 20.1% of the total.
Solar contributes 6.0% of generation from utility-scale facilities, or 6.5% when rooftop solar is included. This ranks 23rd of the 50 states and DC. Wind generates 2.0%, while hydro and other sources make up the remaining renewable and carbon-free generation. Ohio's renewable share lags most of its neighbours: Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky all exceed Ohio's renewable output, though West Virginia and Pennsylvania fall below it.
The composition of Ohio's generation has shifted dramatically since 2001. Coal's share collapsed from 87.3% to 24.3% in 2025, a decline of 63 percentage points. Natural gas surged from 0.6% to 54.7% over the same period, an increase of 54.1 percentage points. Solar and wind, which contributed nothing in 2001, reached 5.4% and 2.0% respectively in 2025. Nuclear held relatively steady at 11.6% in 2025, up slightly from 10.9% in 2001. The renewable share grew from 0.7% in 2001 to 7.9% in 2025, a gain of 7.2 percentage points.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Ohio's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Ohio's power comes from solar?
›Where does Ohio get most of its electricity?
›Does Ohio still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Ohio 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.