Coal supplied just 7.82% of electricity generation across the 11-state Western grid in the first half of 2026 — down from 25.59% over the same months in 2015. The drop hasn't been a straight line: 2025's first half actually ticked back up to 11.90% before this year's steep fall.
Combined coal share of electricity generation, 11 Western states, January–June each year
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), combined January–June generation share across the 11-state Western grid. Data via Joe Deely (@jdeely), posted to X, August 2026. Background photo: Dry Fork Station coal plant, Campbell County, Wyoming (public domain, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons).