LONDON (Reuters) – Renewable energy has overtaken fossil fuels as the European Union’s main source of electricity for the first time in 2020, as new projects go online and coal has fallen, a report said on Monday.
Renewable sources such as wind and solar energy generated 38% of the 27 Member States’ electricity by 2020, with fossil fuels such as coal and gas contributing 37%, the report of the Ember and Agora Energiewende think tanks said.
(Graph: Share of electricity production (%) in the EU 27 -)
Denmark achieved the highest proportion of wind and solar energy, contributing 61% of its electricity needs in 2020. Ireland reached 35% and Germany 33%.
The countries with the lowest share of renewable energy sources, below 5%, were Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the data show.
Home and business boards 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 more strongly by fossil fuel producers, the report said.
Coal-based energy production will fall by 20% in 2020 and fall by half in 2015, she said.
“Coal generation has declined in almost every country, continuing the collapse of coal that was well implemented before Covid-19,” the report said.
Many European countries are phasing out polluting coal-fired power plants to meet their emissions reduction targets, but low electricity prices amid the pandemic blockade have made some coal-fired power plants unprofitable compared to cheaper renewable production.
“Renewable energy will continue to grow, because we are installing more and more. The jury is wondering if fossil fuels will come back, but if they do come back, they don’t expect too much, “said Dave Jones, Ember’s chief electricity analyst.
Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Edited by Elaine Hardcastle