Where Utah Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 39.3% | 15,208 GWh |
| Coal | 36.7% | 14,203 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 1.9% | 719 GWh |
| Solar | 18.3% | 7,075 GWh |
| Hydro | 1.5% | 575 GWh |
| Other | 2.3% | 903 GWh |
38.7 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 2026. Shares are of net generation within Utah, 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. Utah generated 1,158 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 18.3% to 20.7%.
How the mix has shifted since 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 4.0% | 30.8% | +26.7 pts |
| Coal | 93.9% | 48.1% | −45.8 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 2.1% | +2.1 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 14.9% | +14.9 pts |
| Hydro | 1.4% | 1.8% | +0.3 pts |
| Other | 0.6% | 2.4% | +1.8 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
Utah's generation mix in context
Natural gas supplied 39.3% of Utah's electricity generation in the twelve months to August 2026, making it the largest source. Coal, the state's historical mainstay, fell to 36.7%. Solar accounted for 18.3% of utility-scale generation, or 20.7% when rooftop solar is included. Together, renewable sources provided 23% of the state's generation, placing Utah 24th of the 50 states and DC. Utah ranks 4th for solar share alone.
The state's generation mix has shifted dramatically since 2001. Coal's share collapsed from 93.9% in 2001 to 48.1% in 2025, while natural gas grew from 4% to 30.8% over the same period. Solar rose from nothing to 14.9% in 2025, and wind emerged as a small contributor at 2.1% in 2025. Renewable generation as a whole expanded from 1.9% in 2001 to 20.2% in 2025.
Utah's renewable share trails the national average of 25.4% by 2.4 percentage points. Coal makes up a substantially larger part of generation here than nationally, where it accounts for 15.4%. Five of Utah's six bordering states generate higher shares of renewable electricity: Idaho at 73.4%, New Mexico at 54.5%, Colorado at 48.7%, Nevada at 42.1%, and Wyoming at 34.4%. Only Arizona, at 22.3%, falls below Utah's renewable share.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of Utah's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of Utah's power comes from solar?
›Where does Utah get most of its electricity?
›Does Utah still burn coal for electricity?
›Is Utah 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.