Last Updated: September 18, 2025

Overview

South Dakota stretches from fertile lowlands in the eastern part of the state across rolling hills, canyons, and buttes to the state's famous Badlands and Black Hills in the west.¹ The state's modest crude oil and natural gas reserves are concentrated in western South Dakota.^2,3,4 However, substantial renewable resources are found statewide. The Missouri River, the longest river in North America, cuts across central South Dakota and, along with its many tributaries, provides this landlocked state with abundant hydroelectric resources.^5,6 Four of the six major hydroelectric dams along the Missouri River are located in South Dakota.⁷ Winds that blow unobstructed across the state's broad plains and prairie provide a significant wind energy resource.^8,9 Solar resources are found statewide but are greatest in southwestern South Dakota, and much of the western two-thirds of the state also has geothermal resources.^10,11 Biomass, from the state's more than 42 million acres of farmland and from its western forests, provides additional renewable resources.^12,13,14 Uranium, the source for nuclear reactor fuel, was found in western South Dakota in the early 1950s.^15,16 Although it is not currently mined in the state, a uranium in-situ leach mining project is in development.^17,18

South Dakota consumes about 50% more energy than it produces.¹⁹ The industrial sector, which accounts for almost half of the state's total energy use, is South Dakota's leading energy consumer.²⁰ In addition to farming and food production, the state's manufactured products include machinery, chemicals, transportation equipment, and fabricated metal products.²¹ The Black Hills, along the state's western border, are a mineral-rich area and South Dakota has deposits of 15 of the 50 critical minerals identified by the federal government.^22,23 South Dakota's Homestake Mine had the largest and deepest gold deposit ever found in the Western Hemisphere and produced almost 40 million ounces of gold during its over 125-year history until it closed in 2002.²⁴ It is now an underground scientific research facility.²⁵ Other large-scale energy-intensive mining activities continue in the state, including the extraction of mica, sand, gravel, and crushed stone.²⁶

The transportation sector accounts for about three-tenths of the state's total energy consumption, and the residential and commercial sectors split the remaining one-fourth.²⁷ In part because South Dakota's population is less than in all but four other states, its total energy consumption ranks among the lowest 10 states in the nation.^28,29 However, because of the state's energy-intensive industries and a climate typified by hot summers and exceptionally cold winters, South Dakota ranks 9th among the top energy-consuming states in the nation on a per capita basis.^30,31,32

Electricity

In 2024, wind provided 59% of South Dakota's total electricity net generation, a larger share than in all other states except Iowa. Wind surpassed the state's previous leading electricity source, hydroelectric power, for the first time in 2021. Hydropower accounted for about 21% of the state's generation in 2024. Three of South Dakota's 10 largest power plants by both generating capacity and actual annual generation are hydroelectric. Natural gas surpassed coal in 2023 to become the third-largest source of in-state generation and accounted for 11% in 2024.^33,34,35

South Dakota's remaining net generation comes almost entirely from natural gas and coal. Natural gas exceeded coal for the first time in 2023, and in 2024 provided about 11% of South Dakota's net generation. Coal's contribution declined from providing 24% of the state's net generation in 2014 to 8% in 2024. Petroleum, biomass, and solar energy together provided about 2% of the state's generation.³⁶ South Dakota does not have any nuclear power plants.³⁷

South Dakota ranks among the 10 states with the lowest total electricity consumption. However, because of its small population, South Dakota's per capita electricity consumption is greater than in 35 states.^38,39 Electricity sales have steadily increased for more than two decades. In 2024, the residential and commercial sectors each accounted for about 38% of the state's electricity sales. The rest was purchased by the industrial sector.⁴⁰ Per capita electricity sales to South Dakota's residential sector are more than in three-fourths of the states, in part because about one-third of households uses electricity for home heating during the state's extremely cold winters.^41,42,43

In mid-2025, South Dakota had 103 public electric vehicle charging locations.⁴⁴ The majority of these charging locations are in and around Sioux Falls and Rapid City, as well as along the major highways throughout the state.⁴⁵

Renewable energy

Renewable resources generated 81% of South Dakota's total in-state electricity in 2024, the second highest in the nation after Vermont. Almost all of it came from wind and hydroelectric power. However, wind power provided nearly three times more electricity than hydropower in 2024.^46,47 The state has some of the best onshore wind resources in the nation, and in 2024, wind supplied 59% of South Dakota's total in-state net generation.^48,49 As of mid-2025, South Dakota had 3,450 megawatts of wind energy capacity at 25 active wind farms.^50,51 The 300-megawatt Deuel Harvest project, which came online in 2021, is the largest wind farm in South Dakota.⁵²

Hydropower accounted for 21% of the state's total electricity generation in 2024, down from 50% in 2014, due in part to drought conditions in some areas of the state.^53,54,55 South Dakota's hydroelectric facilities are located on the upper Missouri River and are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.⁵⁶ The northernmost is the Oahe Dam, which forms a 231-mile-long lake that is the fourth-largest man-made reservoir in the nation. It began generating hydroelectric power in 1962. Downstream is the Big Bend Dam, where the power plant went into operation in 1964. The Fort Randall Dam, just north of the Nebraska state line, first produced power in 1954. Water released from those and other upstream dams is stored in Lewis and Clark Lake behind South Dakota's fourth largest federal dam, Gavins Point. That dam straddles the border between South Dakota and Nebraska, but its power plant is on the Nebraska side. The Gavins Point Dam plays an important role in controlling the water flow on the 800 miles of open river between the South Dakota border and St. Louis, Missouri.^57,58 The state's only other utility-scale (1 megawatt or larger capacity) hydroelectric power plant, Spearfish Hydro, has 4 megawatts of generating capacity and has been in operation since 1912.⁵⁹

South Dakota's agricultural activities and forest waste provide the state with important renewable resources. South Dakota is one of the nation's top corn producers, and the abundant corn crop is used, in part, to supply the feedstock for the state's fuel ethanol production industry.^60,61 South Dakota is the nation's fifth-largest fuel ethanol producer in the nation, accounting for 8% of total U.S. fuel ethanol output in 2023.⁶² The state's 16 fuel ethanol plants can produce about 1.5 billion gallons per year. Only about 1.2 million gallons of fuel ethanol are consumed in the state annually.^63,64 South Dakota has no biodiesel production plants.⁶⁵ However, a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant is under development in the state, which will use corn as a feedstock to produce SAF.^66,67

A large part of South Dakota‘s agricultural economy comes from raising livestock, primarily cattle and hogs.⁶⁸ Several renewable natural gas (RNG) projects in South Dakota use animal manure from some of the state's farms to produce biogas.^69,70 The city of Sioux Falls also uses biogas created by anaerobic digestion at its water reclamation facility to generate enough electricity to meet about two-fifths of the facility's needs.⁷¹ In 2024, biomass was used to fuel about 0.1% of South Dakota's in-state electricity generation.⁷² Wood pellets are manufactured from forest and mill waste and can be used for electricity generation and space heating.⁷³ One fuel ethanol plant in the state uses wood waste to generate power for the plant's own use.⁷⁴ South Dakota has two wood pellet manufacturing plants that have a combined production capacity of about 70,000 tons per year.⁷⁵

Moderate solar photovoltaic (PV) potential exists across most of South Dakota, with the greatest solar resources in the southwest corner of the state.⁷⁶ However, prior to 2023, most of the state's solar capacity came from customer-sited, small-scale (less than 1 megawatt capacity) installations, such as rooftop solar panels.⁷⁷ The addition of the Fall River solar farm in 2023 and Wild Springs solar farm in 2024, added 208 megawatts of utility-scale (1-megawatt or larger) solar generation capacity in South Dakota.⁷⁸ The state has geothermal resources, but no utility-scale electricity is generated from geothermal energy in South Dakota.^79,80

South Dakota does not have a renewable portfolio standard that mandates utilities obtain a certain amount of their electricity or power sales from renewable energy sources. The state did have a voluntary renewable portfolio goal that called for 10% of the state's electricity sales by 2015 to be generated from renewables. Many, but not all, of South Dakota's electricity providers met that goal.^81,82 South Dakota does have other state and utility policies, financial incentives, and technical resources that encourage energy efficiency and renewable electricity generation. The state also has interconnection standards for solar panel generating systems as large as 10 megawatts but does not have net metering to require utilities pay consumers for the excess electricity they generate and put on the grid, and interconnection costs are usually paid by the generating system owner.^83,84,85

Petroleum

South Dakota has no significant proved crude oil reserves and no oil refineries, but it does have a small amount of crude oil production.^86,87,88 Although the Williston Basin extends into South Dakota from the north, its oil-rich Bakken Shale does not.⁸⁹ Almost all of the state's crude oil production is concentrated in the northwestern corner of the state, where Harding County produces most of South Dakota's crude oil and natural gas.^90,91 Since the 1980s, the state's annual crude oil production has ranged between about 1 million and 2 million barrels per year. It declined from a peak of nearly 1.9 million barrels in 2013 to 875,000 barrels in 2024, the lowest level since 1981.^92,93 Crude oil production in South Dakota accounts for 0.02% of the nation's total.⁹⁴ Two crude oil pipelines that cross eastern South Dakota transport oil to refineries and terminals in other states. Other petroleum product pipelines bring refined products to South Dakota consumers through neighboring states.⁹⁵

South Dakota uses less total petroleum than all but three other states. However, because of the state's small population, it ranks 12th in the nation in terms of petroleum use per capita.^96,97 The transportation sector accounts for three-fourths of the state's petroleum consumption, most of it as motor gasoline and diesel fuel.^98,99 In part because of its relatively low population density and lack of access to alternative forms of public transportation, the state ranks in the top third of states in terms of vehicle miles traveled per capita.^100,101,102 As a result, South Dakota has higher motor gasoline expenditures per capita than the U.S. average—it ranked seventh-highest in 2023.¹⁰³ South Dakota does not have any federal air quality non-attainment areas, and conventional gasoline without ethanol can be sold statewide.^104,105 However, like most states, almost all gasoline sold in South Dakota is blended with at least 10% ethanol.¹⁰⁶ South Dakota also has 75 fueling stations that sell E85, a motor gasoline blend that is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.¹⁰⁷ South Dakota is a major producer of ethanol, and the state legislature passed a bill that allows gas stations to claim a tax credit for E15 sales through 2029.¹⁰⁸ The industrial sector and the residential sector consume almost all the rest of the petroleum used in the state. The industrial sector accounts for about 15% of state petroleum consumption. The residential sector accounts for 5% of the state's petroleum use, where about one in six South Dakota households use petroleum products, mostly propane, for heating. The commercial sector makes up 2%, and the electric power sector uses a minor amount of petroleum.^109,110

Natural gas

South Dakota does not have any significant proved natural gas reserves, and with fewer than 100 producing wells, natural gas production in the state is modest.^111,112,113 Natural gas is produced from both natural gas and crude oil wells in Harding County in the northwest corner of the state.¹¹⁴ Gross withdrawals of natural gas in South Dakota increased steadily from 1980 until 2013 when it reached an annual high of more than 16 billion cubic feet. Withdrawals remained near that level through 2015 but have been falling as the number of producing wells declined.^115,116 Since 2020, South Dakota has produced less than 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per year and accounted for much less than 0.01% of U.S. total natural gas gross withdrawals.^117,118

In part because of its small population, South Dakota uses little natural gas. However, more natural gas is consumed in the state than is produced there.^119,120 The industrial sector is South Dakota's largest natural gas-consuming sector. In 2024, it accounted for 52% of the natural gas delivered to the state's consumers. The electric power sector accounted for about 21%. Although almost half of South Dakota households use natural gas as their primary fuel for home heating, the residential sector accounted for only about 14% of the natural gas delivered to state consumers. The commercial sector used 13%.^121,122

South Dakota does not have any intrastate pipelines other than local distribution systems owned by natural gas utilities. A handful of major interstate pipelines bring natural gas into the state.^123,124 Almost all the natural gas that enters the state comes from North Dakota. South Dakota does not have any underground natural gas storage fields, and nine-tenths of the natural gas that enters South Dakota leaves the state. Almost all of it continues on to Minnesota.^125,126

Coal

South Dakota does not have any operating coal mines and the state's estimated recoverable coal reserves are small, less than 300 million tons or 0.1% of the nation's recoverable reserves.¹²⁷ Coal arrives from Wyoming by rail and truck to meet the state's limited needs.¹²⁸ In 2023, about 80% of the 1.4 million tons of coal consumed in South Dakota was used for electricity generation at the state's only coal-fired power plant. The rest of the coal was delivered to industrial facilities in the state.^129,130

Energy on tribal lands

South Dakota has eight federally recognized tribes and is home to about 76,000 Native Americans, making up 8% of the state's population.^131,132,133 South Dakota has the fifth-largest amount of acreage in tribal lands in the nation, with the tribes or individual tribal members holding almost one-tenth of the state's land. The tribes on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River, Rosebud, and Standing Rock reservations are among the largest tribal landholders in the lower 48 states.¹³⁴ South Dakota is home to nine reservations, two of which straddle the North Dakota-South Dakota border.¹³⁵

South Dakota's tribal lands have some of the best onshore wind resources in the nation. Four of the nation's top five reservations with the greatest wind-powered electricity generation potential are in South Dakota.¹³⁶ In 2003, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe installed a 750-kilowatt wind turbine. It was the first tribe-owned and -operated commercial wind turbine in the nation.^137,138 In 2013, six South Dakota Sioux tribes announced plans to collaborate in the development of an interconnected grid of wind farms that would have more than 1,000 megawatts of generating capacity.¹³⁹ To develop the wind project, the tribes formed the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority.¹⁴⁰ Phase one of the development included two wind power projects: the 450-megawatt Ta'teh Topah Wind Farm and 120-megawatt Pass Creek Wind Farm. However, due to interconnection and financing issues the Pass Creek Wind Farm was shelved in 2024 and the Ta'teh Topah Wind Farm startup is delayed until 2026.^{141,142,143,144}

South Dakota tribes also have biomass and solar resources. The Sisseton Tribe of northeastern South Dakota is one of the five tribes in the nation with the greatest potential for biomass-fueled electricity generation. The Pine Ridge reservation of southwestern South Dakota and northern Nebraska has some of the largest potential for concentrated solar power generating potential in the nation. The Standing Rock reservation that straddles the North and South Dakota border is one of the five reservations with the greatest utility-scale solar PV power potential in the nation.¹⁴⁵ A planned solar farm, Lookout Solar Park, on 810 acres leased from tribal members of the Pine Ridge reservation could provide up to 140 megawatts of power to the regional electric grid. Once operational, it would be the state's largest solar farm to date.^146,147 Other smaller solar projects are in development on South Dakota tribal lands.¹⁴⁸ In January 2025, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Solar for All project came online, providing 8 kilowatts of solar energy to residents, one of the first solar-plus-storage projects for members of the Tribal Renewable Energy Coalition.^149,150

Endnotes

¹ WorldAtlas, South Dakota, updated March 2, 2023.
² U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Crude Oil Production, Annual-Thousand Barrels, 2019-24.
³ U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Gross Withdrawals and Production, Gross Withdrawals, Annual-Million Cubic Feet, 2019-24.
⁴ South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, South Dakota Oil and Gas Well, Test Hole, and Permit Locations, accessed July 10, 2024.
⁵ U.S. Geological Survey, Rivers of the World: World's Longest Rivers (June 11, 2018).
⁶ Missouri River Tourism, The Big Lakes & Dams, accessed August 15, 2025.
⁷ U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Missouri Basin and Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas Gulf Regions, Lewis and Clark: Big Dam Era, updated September 29, 2017.
⁸ WorldAtlas, South Dakota, updated March 2, 2023.
⁹ U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, WINDExchange, Wind Energy in South Dakota, accessed August 14, 2025.
¹⁰ U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Direct Normal Solar Irradiance (February 22, 2018).
¹¹ U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Geothermal Resources of the United States (February 22, 2018).
¹² U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2024 State Agriculture Overview, South Dakota, Farm Operations.
¹³ U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Crop Residue in the United States (January 15, 2014).
¹⁴ U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forests of South Dakota, 2019.
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⁶⁰ U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Crop Production, 2024 Summary (January 2025), p. 10.
⁶¹ U.S. EIA, U.S. fuel ethanol plant count by state, 2024, Detailed annual production capacity by plant is available in XLSX.
⁶² U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table P4B, Primary Energy Production Estimates, Biofuels, in Thousand Barrels, Ranked by State, 2023.
⁶³ U.S. EIA, U.S. Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Capacity, Nameplate Capacities of Fuel Ethanol Plants, January 1, 2024, detailed annual production capacity by plant is available in XLSX.
⁶⁴ U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F29, Fuel Ethanol Consumption Estimates, 2023.
⁶⁵ U.S. EIA, U.S. Biodiesel Plant Production Capacity, U.S. biodiesel plant count by state, 2024.
⁶⁶ U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, accessed August 18, 2025.
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⁶⁸ U.S. Department of Agriculture, South Dakota Rank in U.S. Agriculture (May 1, 2024).
⁶⁹ "Two South Dakota RNG Plants Begin Production," Gas Compression (February 20, 2024).
⁷⁰ UGI Corporation, "UGI Announces Investment in Additional Renewable Natural Gas Projects in South Dakota," Press Release (January 4, 2023).
⁷¹ City of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, SiouxperGrow (Biosolids) Program, accessed July 19, 2024.
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⁷⁴ POET, LLC, Chancellor, SD, accessed August 20, 2025.
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⁸⁸ U.S. EIA, Crude Oil Production, Annual-Thousands of Barrels, 2019-24.
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⁹⁶ U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table N1, Population, GDP, and Degree Days, Ranked by State, 2023.
⁹⁷ U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C15, Petroleum Consumption Estimates, Total and per Capita, Ranked by State, 2023.
⁹⁸ U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F16, Total Petroleum Consumption Estimates, 2023.
⁹⁹ U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C2, Energy Consumption Estimates for Selected Energy Sources in Physical Units, 2023.
¹⁰⁰ Mattson, Jeremy and Bright Quayson, "Comparing Public Transportation Services for Rural States in the Upper Midwest and Great Plans Region - Executive Summary," Upper Great Plans Transportation Institute (May 2023), p. 1.
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¹⁰³ U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table E20, Motor Gasoline Price and Expenditure Estimates, Ranked by State, 2023.
¹⁰⁴ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gasoline Standards, State Fuels, updated February 27, 2025.
¹⁰⁵ Southern States Energy Board, U.S. Gasoline Requirements, updated January 2018.
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