Where South Dakota Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 10.5% | 2,309 GWh |
| Coal | 7.5% | 1,634 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 56.2% | 12,309 GWh |
| Solar | 2.1% | 450 GWh |
| Hydro | 23.6% | 5,163 GWh |
| Other | 0.2% | 34 GWh |
21.9 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within South 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. South Dakota generated 8 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 2.1% to 2.1%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 4.1% | 8.4% | +4.2 pts |
| Coal | 48.8% | 9.1% | −39.7 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 57.2% | +57.1 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 2.0% | +2.0 pts |
| Hydro | 46.4% | 21.9% | −24.4 pts |
| Other | 0.7% | 1.4% | +0.7 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
South Dakota's generation mix in context
Wind supplies 56.2% of South Dakota's electricity generation, making it by far the largest source. Renewable energy accounts for 81.8% of generation, ranking second among the 50 states and DC. This renewable share far exceeds the national figure of 25.4%, a difference of 56.4 percentage points. Solar contributes 2.1% of generation on both measures—utility-scale and including rooftop solar—and ranks 37th among states.
The generation mix has shifted dramatically since 2001. Wind grew from essentially nothing to 57.2% in 2025, while coal collapsed from 48.8% to 9.1%. Hydropower, which supplied 46.4% in 2001, has declined to 21.9% in 2025. Gas rose modestly from 4.1% to 8.4%. Together, renewables increased from 46.4% in 2001 to 81.1% in 2025, a gain of 34.7 percentage points.
All six neighbouring states—Montana, Iowa, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, and Nebraska—generate lower shares of renewable electricity than South Dakota. Among these neighbours, Montana relies most heavily on renewables at 62.8%, while Nebraska is lowest at 32.2%. South Dakota's renewable share stands well above any adjacent state.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of South Dakota's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of South Dakota's power comes from solar?
›Where does South Dakota get most of its electricity?
›Does South Dakota still burn coal for electricity?
›Is South 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.