From July 2025 through June 2026, Colorado’s electricity consumption was supplied in almost equal proportions by fossil fuels and low-carbon sources: each accounted for about 45%, while net imports supplied the remaining 11%. Gas provided about 30% and coal about 15%. Among clean electricity sources, wind led with roughly 27%, followed by solar at 14% and hydropower at 3%. Solar’s contribution included about 10% from utility-scale facilities and 4% from behind-the-meter systems, such as rooftop panels. The source mix of net imports is not specified, so they should be kept separate from the fossil and low-carbon categories.

Is Electricity Growing in Colorado?

Electricity consumption in Colorado is growing, but only slightly on a per-person basis. The latest 2026 figure reached about 10,762 kWh per person, narrowly exceeding the 2025 record of 10,731 kWh—an increase of roughly 32 kWh, or 0.3%. Low-carbon electricity generation made a much stronger advance, reaching 4,786 kWh per person, up 292 kWh, or about 6.5%, from its previous record in 2025. That clean electricity growth is encouraging, although the near-stagnation in overall consumption per person highlights the importance of preparing sufficient clean supply for future electrification and growing AI-related electricity demand.

Suggestions

Colorado can build on its established wind and solar sectors while considering nuclear power as an additional source of low-carbon electricity. Nearby examples offer useful benchmarks: wind supplies almost half of electricity generation in the US state of Kansas and more than half in the US state of South Dakota, compared with Colorado’s roughly 27%. For solar, the US states of Nevada and California generate about 35% and 31% of their electricity from sunlight, respectively, demonstrating room for Colorado to expand both utility-scale and rooftop solar. Nuclear also deserves consideration: the US state of Arizona generates about a quarter of its electricity from nuclear, while the US state of Illinois gets almost half and France about two-thirds. Learning from these regions could help Colorado expand clean electricity supply and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, cutting climate-changing emissions and air pollution.

History

The available history covers 2024 through 2026 and shows uneven but positive overall growth in wind and hydropower generation. Wind added 1.5 TWh in 2024, declined by 0.5 TWh in 2025, and recovered with a 0.6 TWh increase in 2026. The 2025 setback was disappointing, but the subsequent recovery brought the cumulative increase across these annual changes to 1.6 TWh. Hydropower grew steadily, adding 0.1 TWh in 2024 and 0.2 TWh in each of the following two years, for a combined increase of 0.5 TWh. Biofuels generation was unchanged throughout this period. Together, these figures show welcome progress in low-carbon electricity, with sustained wind expansion offering an important opportunity to strengthen that momentum.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

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