Wind and solar power overtake fossil fuels in Europe

Wind and solar energy generation in the European Union (EU) overtook fossil fuels for the first time during the first six months of 2024, accounting for 30 per cent of the EU’s electricity compared to fossil fuels’ 27 per cent.

A new analysis from European energy think tank Ember published on Tuesday reveals that wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels during the first six months of 2024, the first time this has happened in a half year period.

The milestone was a tale of two parts, with fossil fuel generation falling by 17 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, due primarily to the growth of wind and solar eating into fossil fuel’s share.

Maybe just as importantly, the growth of wind and solar more than exceeded the recovery in electricity demand, which grew by 0.7 per cent over the first half of the year.

Even with electricity demand continuing to rebound from the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic and the gas price crisis, coal generation fell by 24 per cent in the first half of 2024, and natural gas fell by 14 per cent over the same period.

“Growth in renewables, particularly wind and solar, was the primary driver of this as their growth outpaced the rebound in demand to replace fossil power as well,” says Ember.

As countries across the EU continue to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources in an effort to wean themselves off their reliance on Russian gas following its invasion of Ukraine, wind and solar now generates more electricity than from fossil fuels in thirteen different EU member states, including Germany, Belgium, Hungary, and the Netherlands, which hit the milestone for the first time.

Solar generation across the EU grew by 20 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier, with wind generation increasing by 9.5 per cent. Combined, this works out to an increase of 13 per cent, or an added 45TWh.

In addition to the acceleration in supportive renewable energy policies, Ember also found that mild weather and good hydroelectric performance also helped contribute to the massive drop in fossil fuel generation.

According to Ember, hydroelectricity generation rebounded by 21 per cent in the first half of 2024, “following droughts that had resulted in very low output for the previous two years.”

Combining all three major renewable generation sources means that renewables generated half of the EU’s electricity over the first half of the year, “significantly” surpassing the previous record set last year of 44 per cent.

“With wind and solar on the rise, the role of fossil fuel power is narrowing,” said Dr. Chris Rosslowe, an Ember analyst.

“We are witnessing a historic shift in the power sector, and it is happening rapidly.”

“If Member States can keep momentum up on wind and solar deployment then freedom from fossil power reliance will truly start to come into view.”

With renewables eating into the share of fossil fuel electricity generation, power sector emissions saw a substantial drop over the first six months of 2024, down 17 per cent compared to the same period in 2023 – even as emissions dropped by 18 per cent over the first six months of 2023.

“Consequently, emissions in the first half of the year are now nearly a third (-31 per cent) lower than in the first half of 2022, an unprecedented decline over such a short period,” said Ember.

“This decline is even larger than the fall seen over the same periods in 2020 and 2018, which reflected the impact on demand from the Covid-19 pandemic. Compared to the first half of 2017, emissions from the EU power sector are now down 44%.”