From July 2025 through June 2026, fossil fuels supplied almost 72% of Utah’s electricity consumption: coal contributed about 37% and gas about 35%. Low-carbon sources supplied roughly a quarter, led by solar at nearly 20% of total electricity consumption. That solar contribution included about 17% from utility-scale installations and 3% from behind-the-meter systems, such as rooftop panels. Hydropower and wind each contributed around 2%, while geothermal supplied about 1%. Net imports accounted for another 3%, with their source mix unspecified. Utah therefore remains heavily dependent on fossil electricity, leaving substantial room for clean electricity to reduce climate-changing emissions and air pollution.
Data sources used on this page include EIA
Electricity consumption per person is growing, although modestly. The latest 2026 figure reached about 11,200 kWh per person, exceeding the previous record of roughly 11,100 kWh in 2025 by 87 kWh, or about 0.8%. Low-carbon electricity generation grew much faster, reaching about 2,800 kWh per person—roughly 345 kWh, or 14%, above its 2025 record. This is encouraging progress: clean electricity generation per person is rising considerably faster than electricity consumption per person. Sustaining and accelerating that growth would help meet additional electricity demand from electrification and AI.
Utah should build on solar’s already substantial contribution by expanding both utility-scale installations and rooftop systems. Nearby examples offer useful benchmarks: solar supplies 35% of electricity generation in the US state of Nevada and 31% in the US state of California . Utah should also consider building nuclear generation to complement solar with steady low-carbon electricity, drawing lessons from the US state of Arizona , where nuclear supplies 25% of generation, and from France , where it supplies 67%. Wind offers another opportunity: the neighboring US states of Wyoming and Colorado generate 31% and 27% of their electricity from wind, respectively. Together, these regions demonstrate how a broader clean electricity portfolio could help Utah increase supply while reducing fossil-fuel dependence.
* 12M = Last 12 months (Jul 2025 – Jun 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.
The supplied history for 2024–2026 shows modest, uneven changes among Utah’s low-carbon sources other than solar, for which no historical changes are provided. Wind generation increased by 0.1 TWh in both 2024 and 2025, before falling by 0.1 TWh in 2026—a disappointing reversal of some earlier gains. Hydropower showed no reported change in 2024, declined by 0.1 TWh in 2025, and then rebounded by 0.2 TWh in 2026. Geothermal and biofuels recorded no reported annual changes throughout these years. Overall, these figures underscore the need for more sustained growth in clean electricity generation, especially through expanded solar and the addition of nuclear power.
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