Where West Virginia Gets Its Electricity
Net generation by source · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
Generation mix
| Source | Share | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 7.0% | 3,880 GWh |
| Coal | 86.7% | 48,096 GWh |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0 GWh |
| Wind | 3.2% | 1,753 GWh |
| Solar | 0.5% | 278 GWh |
| Hydro | 2.3% | 1,264 GWh |
| Other | 0.3% | 173 GWh |
55.4 TWh generated over the 12 months to August 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 98 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 2001
| Source | 2001 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 0.3% | 6.2% | +5.8 pts |
| Coal | 98.0% | 86.9% | −11.1 pts |
| Nuclear | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Wind | 0.0% | 3.7% | +3.7 pts |
| Solar | 0.0% | 0.5% | +0.5 pts |
| Hydro | 1.2% | 2.4% | +1.2 pts |
| Other | 0.5% | 0.3% | −0.2 pts |
Compared with the U.S. and nearby states
| Where | Renewable | Carbon-free | Largest source |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 5.9% | 5.9% | Coal 86.7% |
| U.S. average | 25.4% | 43.0% | Natural gas 40.9% |
| Virginia | 13.9% | 40.7% | Natural gas |
| Maryland | 11.0% | 48.7% | Natural gas |
| Kentucky | 9.4% | 9.4% | Coal |
| Ohio | 8.4% | 20.1% | Natural gas |
| Pennsylvania | 3.9% | 34.9% | Natural gas |
West Virginia's generation mix in context
Coal supplied 86.7% of West Virginia's electricity generation in the twelve months from September 2025 to August 2026, dominating the state's mix far more than it does nationally, where it accounted for 15.4%. Natural gas provided 7%, wind 3.2%, hydro 2.3%, and solar 0.5% on a utility-scale basis, or 0.7% when rooftop solar is included. Together, renewable sources accounted for 5.9% of generation, placing West Virginia 46th of the 50 states and DC in renewable share. Solar ranked 48th of the 50 states and DC.
The state's generation mix has shifted substantially since 2001. Coal's share fell from 98% to 86.9% in 2025, while natural gas grew from 0.3% to 6.2% over the same span. Wind generation, which did not exist in 2001, reached 3.7% in 2025. Renewable generation rose from 1.2% in 2001 to 6.6% in 2025, an increase of 5.4 percentage points. Hydro's contribution grew from 1.2% to 2.4%, and solar emerged as a source, reaching 0.5% in 2025.
Compared with bordering states, West Virginia's renewable share is lower than all but one. Pennsylvania, at 3.9%, is the sole exception; Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and Ohio all exceed West Virginia's 5.9%, with renewable shares of 13.9%, 11%, 9.4%, and 8.4% respectively. Four of the five neighbors rely on natural gas as their largest source, while Kentucky, like West Virginia, generates more electricity from coal than any other fuel.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 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 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.