From July 2025 through June 2026, low-carbon sources supplied about 62% of Maine’s electricity consumption, while fossil fuels accounted for about 37%. Solar supplied roughly 18%, split almost evenly between utility-scale installations and behind-the-meter systems, such as rooftop panels. Wind contributed another 18%, hydropower about 15%, and biofuels about 10%. On the fossil side, gas dominated at approximately 35% of electricity consumption, while oil supplied about 2%. Maine therefore already gets more than half its electricity from clean sources, but substantial fossil-fuel use remains.

Is Electricity Growing in Maine?

Electricity consumption in Maine is growing: the latest 2026 figure reached about 11,750 kWh per person, exceeding the previous record set in 2025 by 344 kWh per person, or roughly 3%. Low-carbon electricity generation also reached a new record of about 7,240 kWh per person, up approximately 90 kWh per person, or just over 1%, from its 2025 record. Both records are encouraging, but clean generation is growing more slowly than electricity consumption. Accelerating low-carbon generation would help Maine meet additional demand from electrification and AI while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Suggestions

Maine should expand its already substantial wind and solar generation while considering nuclear electricity as another source of clean growth. For wind, Denmark and the US state of Iowa demonstrate what is possible, each generating about 57% of its electricity from wind; Denmark offers a particularly useful northern, coastal reference. For solar, the US states of California and Nevada generate roughly 31% and 35% of their electricity from sunlight, respectively, offering lessons in scaling both utility-scale and distributed installations. Nearby nuclear examples are especially relevant: the US state of New Hampshire generates about 52% of its electricity from nuclear, and the US state of Connecticut about 36%. These regions show how nuclear can complement expanded wind and solar, helping Maine build a larger low-carbon electricity supply and reduce fossil-fuel-related climate change and air pollution.

History

The supplied history covers 2024 through 2026 and shows modest wind gains alongside disappointing hydropower declines. In 2024, hydropower generation fell by 1 TWh, outweighing increases of 0.2 TWh from biofuels and 0.1 TWh from wind. In 2025, wind growth accelerated to 0.4 TWh, while biofuels added 0.1 TWh and hydropower fell another 0.2 TWh. In 2026, wind added 0.1 TWh, offsetting a further 0.1 TWh hydropower decline, while biofuels generation was unchanged. Across these listed sources, generation fell by a net 0.4 TWh over the three years, underscoring the need for stronger clean electricity growth; these figures do not include changes in solar generation.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Jul 2025 – Jun 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.