LONDON (Reuters) – Renewable energy has overtaken fossil fuels as the European Union’s main electricity source for the first time in 2020, as new projects came online and coal flow shrank, Monday.
Renewable sources such as wind and solar produced 38% percent of the electricity of the 27-member state block in 2020, with fossil fuels such as coal and gas contributing 37%, the report by think tanks Ember and Agora Energiewende found.
(Graph: share of electricity production (%) in EU 27 -)
Denmark achieved the highest share of wind and solar energy, contributing 61% of its electricity needs in 2020. Ireland achieved 35% and Germany 33%.
Countries with the lowest share of renewables, less than 5%, were Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the data showed.
Curbing homes and businesses to limit the spread of the new coronavirus led to a 4% drop in total electricity demand in the EU last year, but the impact was felt more strongly by fossil fuel producers, the report found. .
Coal-fired electricity generation decreased by 20% in 2020 and halved since 2015.
“Coal production fell in almost every country, as the coal collapse continued that was well in place before Covid-19,” the report said.
Many European countries are gradually building polluting coal plants to meet emission reduction targets, but low electricity prices amid the pandemic blockages also made the use of some coal plants unprofitable compared to cheaper renewable generation.
“Renewable energy will continue to increase as we install more and more. The jury is out on whether fossil fuels will recover, but if they do, it won’t happen much, ”said Dave Jones, Ember’s senior electricity analyst.
Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle