Europe sets clean energy record as solar overtakes coal for first time
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Nearly half of all electricity generated in the EU in 2024 came from renewables, Anthony Cuthbertson reports. Europe generated more electricity from solar and wind than coal and gas last year, according to a new report, marking a major milestone in the transition towards renewable energy.
Nearly half of all electricity generated in the EU in 2024 came from renewables (47 per cent), with fossil fuel generation declining by nearly 9 per cent since the previous year, energy think tank Ember found. Analysts have pointed to the European Green Deal, which was drawn up in 2019, as one of the main drivers for the rise in renewables and decline in fossil fuels. In the five years since, solar capacity has tripled and wind capacity has grown by 37 per cent, which has cumulatively saved around 460 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The increase in renewable energy production also helped Europe avoid €59 billion (£50bn) in fossil fuel import costs over the last five years. “Fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU energy,” said Dr Chris Rosslowe, a senior energy analyst at Ember and lead author of the report.
“At the start of the European Green Deal in 2019, few thought the EU’s energy transition could be where it is today; wind and solar are pushing coal to the margins and forcing gas into structural decline.”. Ember’s European Electricity Review, which was published on Thursday, analysed power supplies in all 27 EU countries to reveal that solar is growing in every single country, making up 11 per cent of the block’s electricity generation.
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