From July 2025 through June 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 40% of Virginia’s electricity consumption, chiefly gas at roughly 37%, with coal contributing just over 2%. Low-carbon sources supplied about 26%: nuclear accounted for 17%, solar for nearly 7%, and biofuels for just over 2%. Utility-scale solar provided about 6%, making up most of the solar contribution. Net imports supplied the remaining 34%—roughly a third of consumption—but the data do not identify how much of that imported electricity was clean or fossil-based.

Is Electricity Growing in Virginia?

Virginia’s electricity consumption is growing, although modestly. The latest 2026 figure reached about 18,300 kWh per person, surpassing the 2025 record by 226 kWh per person, or approximately 1.3%. Low-carbon electricity generation also reached a new record of about 4,740 kWh per person, but exceeded its 2025 record by only 13 kWh per person—less than 0.3%. Both records are welcome, yet clean electricity generation is growing much more slowly than consumption. Stronger growth is needed to meet rising electricity demand from electrification and AI while reducing reliance on fossil fuels and their climate and air-pollution impacts.

Suggestions

Virginia should expand its existing nuclear generation and accelerate solar deployment, building on technologies that already supply substantial amounts of its clean electricity. Nearby examples are particularly useful: nuclear supplies 52% of electricity generation in the US state of South Carolina, 32% in Tennessee, and 31% in Pennsylvania. France, at 67%, also demonstrates nuclear’s potential to anchor a predominantly low-carbon electricity supply. For solar, Virginia can learn from the US states of California and Nevada, where solar supplies 31% and 35% of generation, respectively, while adapting their approaches to local conditions. Wind can complement these investments: it supplies 22% of generation in the US state of Texas and 30% in the United Kingdom. Together, these regions illustrate opportunities for a larger, diversified clean electricity supply.

History

The supplied history covers 2024–2026 and shows repeated decreases in nuclear electricity generation: 0.7 TWh in both 2024 and 2025, followed by another 0.4 TWh in 2026—a cumulative reduction of 1.8 TWh. That persistent loss of Virginia’s largest source of clean electricity is concerning and underscores the importance of restoring and expanding nuclear output. Hydro generation fell by 0.2 TWh in 2024 and was unchanged in 2025. Biofuel generation was unchanged in 2024, then increased by 0.2 TWh in 2025 and 0.1 TWh in 2026, while wind generation showed no year-to-year increase throughout the period. These figures reinforce the need for faster nuclear and solar growth rather than allowing clean electricity production to stagnate.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

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