LONDON (Reuters) – Renewable energies overtook fossil fuels as the European Union’s main source of electricity for the first time in 2020, when new projects came on stream and coal power shrank, a report showed on Monday.
Renewable sources such as wind and solar generated 38% of the bloc’s electricity from 27 member states in 2020, with fossil fuels such as coal and gas contributing 37%, the report by think tanks Ember and Agora Energiewende showed.
(Graph: Electricity production share (%) in EU 27 -)
Denmark achieved the highest proportion of wind and solar energy, which contributed 61% of its electricity needs in 2020. Ireland reached 35% and Germany 33%.
The countries with the lowest proportion of renewable energy, below 5%, were Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the data show.
Limitations in homes and businesses designed to limit the spread of the new coronavirus led to a 4% drop in overall electricity demand in the EU last year, but the impact was felt most acutely by fossil fuel producers, the report showed.
Coal power generation fell 20% in 2020 and has halved since 2015, he said.
“Coal generation has fallen in almost every country, continuing the collapse of coal that existed before Covid-19,” said the report.
Many European countries are eliminating polluting coal plants to meet emission reduction targets, but low electricity prices amid pandemic blockages have also made the operation of some coal plants unprofitable compared to cheaper renewable generation. .
“Renewables will continue to grow, because we are installing more and more. The jury has not decided whether fossil fuels will recover, but if they do recover, it is not expected to be much, ”said Dave Jones, senior electricity analyst at Ember.
Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle