Over the year from September 2024 to August 2025, Kansas has demonstrated a commitment to cleaner electricity, with low-carbon sources accounting for more than 60% of total electricity consumption. Wind power plays a dominant role within this category, contributing nearly half of the state's electricity on its own. Additionally, nuclear energy adds another 17% or so, solidifying its status as a significant clean energy player in the state's electricity mix. Despite this impressive clean energy portfolio, fossil fuels still provide around 35% of the state's electricity, with coal being the predominant fossil energy source, supplying almost a third of the overall electricity generated. Natural gas contributes a smaller proportion, at about 7%. These figures show that while progress is being made in increasing the share of low-carbon electricity, there remains a significant dependency on fossil fuels that must be addressed.
Data sources used on this page include EIA. More about data sources →
Is Electricity Growing in Kansas?
The latest statistics show that electricity consumption in Kansas has reached a new high of 21,312 kWh per person, surpassing the previous record set in 2022 by a slight margin of 137 kWh per person. This indicates a continued growth in electricity demand, consistent with broader trends of increasing energy use as technological advancement and electrification of sectors such as transportation and industry drive higher consumption. Encouragingly, low-carbon electricity is also experiencing notable growth, with the latest figures showing 13,831 kWh per person, which represents a significant increase of 612 kWh per person since 2022. These developments suggest a positive trend where not only is electricity consumption increasing, but the state is also successfully increasing its reliance on clean energy sources.
Suggestions
To further enhance its low-carbon electricity generation, Kansas can focus on expanding its existing strengths in nuclear and wind energy. Both of these sources currently contribute significantly to the state's electricity mix and offer vast potential for scaling up. Kansas can look toward regions like Illinois and South Carolina in the United States, where nuclear power constitutes more than 50% of electricity generation, to understand how to integrate more nuclear into its system effectively. Additionally, states like Iowa, which generates 60% of its electricity from wind, can provide valuable insights into harnessing wind energy more efficiently. By drawing inspiration from these regions, Kansas can strategically increase its clean energy output, ensuring a more sustainable and environmentally responsible electricity supply for the future.
History
Kansas's journey toward low-carbon electricity has seen significant developments over the decades. In the early 2010s, wind energy began to make a substantial impact, with notable increases like 4.2 TWh in 2013 and 3.1 TWh in 2016, helping to build a robust wind infrastructure. This trend continued with an 8-year momentum gaining a peak in 2022 with an addition of 4 TWh. Nuclear energy, although experiencing some declines in certain years such as 2008 and 2011, has generally maintained an upward trajectory, evident with the increase of 2.4 TWh in 2017 and 1.3 TWh in 2023. The early gains in wind and steady development in nuclear energy have set the foundation for Kansas’s clean electricity network, and the state must remain vigilant in continuing to build on these solid foundations for a sustainable energy future.
