Europe’s power demand is expected to rise again soon, as electrification takes off through heat pumps and EVs.
More of Europe’s electricity came from wind power than fossil gas for the first time ever last year.
That’s according to the latest annual review from clean energy think tank Ember, which is peppered with positive statistics about the EU’s energy transition.
Wind and solar produced a record 27 per cent of the bloc’s electricity in 2023 – above a quarter for the first time. Coal and gas took a corresponding nosedive, with the former falling to its lowest ever level at just 12 per cent of the EU’s electricity generation.
“The EU’s power sector is in the middle of a monumental shift,” says Sarah Brown, Ember’s Europe programme director. “Fossil fuels are playing a smaller role than ever as a system with wind and solar as its backbone comes into view.”