Where West Virginia Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, June 2025 – May 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 7.0% | 3,808 GWh |
| Coal | 86.8% | 47,435 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 3.1% | 1,717 GWh |
| Solar | 0.5% | 286 GWh |
| Hydro | 2.2% | 1,228 GWh |
| Other | 0.3% | 167 GWh |
54.6 TWh generated over the 12 months to May 2026. Shares are of net generation within West Virginia, 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. West Virginia generated 91 GWh that way. Counting it on both sides of the ratio takes solar from 0.5% to 0.7%.
How the mix has shifted since 2016
| Source | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 1.6% | 6.2% | +4.6 pts |
| Coal | 94.2% | 86.9% | −7.2 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 1.9% | 3.7% | +1.8 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 0.5% | +0.5 pts |
| Hydro | 2.2% | 2.4% | +0.2 pts |
| Other | 0.2% | 0.3% | +0.1 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 5.9% | 5.9% | Coal 86.8% |
| U.S. average | 24.9% | 42.6% | Natural gas 40.8% |
| Virginia | 13.7% | 40.4% | Natural gas |
| Maryland | 10.8% | 49.0% | Natural gas |
| Kentucky | 8.6% | 8.6% | Coal |
| Ohio | 8.1% | 19.9% | Natural gas |
| Pennsylvania | 3.8% | 34.5% | Natural gas |
West Virginia's generation mix in context
Coal dominated West Virginia's electricity generation from June 2025 to May 2026, supplying 86.8% of the 54.6 TWh generated in the state. This share far exceeded the national figure of 15.8%, making coal overwhelmingly the largest source. Natural gas, which is the largest source nationwide at 40.8%, contributed only 7% in West Virginia. Wind accounted for 3.1% of generation, hydro for 2.2%, and gas for the remainder of fossil fuels.
Renewable sources generated 5.9% of the state's electricity, ranking West Virginia 46th among the 51 states and DC with generation data. When rooftop solar is counted alongside utility-scale installations, the solar share was 0.7%; utility-scale solar alone contributed 0.5%. Carbon-free generation, which includes renewables and nuclear, reached 5.9% — far below the national carbon-free share of 42.6%.
Over the ten years from 2016 to 2025, West Virginia's generation mix shifted noticeably. Coal declined from 94.2% in 2016 to 86.9% in 2025, a drop of 7.3 percentage points. Gas grew from 1.6% to 6.2%, while renewables rose from 4% to 6.6%. Wind expanded from 1.9% to 3.7%, and solar appeared for the first time at 0.5%. Among the five bordering states, four had higher renewable shares: Virginia at 13.7%, Maryland at 10.8%, Kentucky at 8.6%, and Ohio at 8.1%. Only Pennsylvania, at 3.8%, fell below West Virginia's renewable generation.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through May 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›What percentage of West Virginia's electricity comes from renewable energy?
›What percentage of West Virginia's power comes from solar?
›Where does West Virginia get most of its electricity?
›Does West Virginia still burn coal for electricity?
›Is West Virginia 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 May 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.