In another milestone for the energy transition, solar now generates more electricity than coal in the EU, achieving this feat for the first time last year.
This comes despite a small increase in electricity demand and the region receiving less sunshine in 2024.
Over the past decade:
➡️ Coal power use has declined 61%
➡️ Wind generation has more than doubled
➡️ Solar generation has more than tripled
The use of coal has now become marginal or absent in most EU energy systems.
Further, the increase in wind and solar generation helped the EU avoid €59 billion in fossil-fuel imports over the past five years, largely because the share of gas is in decline – falling every year for the last five years.
The surge in renewables is driving down the use of fossil fuels and related emissions across the region, as Europe takes advantage of the full swath of affordability, security and clean air benefits that renewables provide.
Both nuclear and hydro have rebounded since their 2022 lows. In fact, nuclear is the largest source of supply in the EU with over 23%.
