• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Corporate News
  • Generation
  • Oil & Gas
  • Regulation
  • Renewable
    • Climate
    • Solar
    • Wind
  • Storage
  • Tech
  • T & D
Energy News Desk Logo

Energy News Desk

Energy News and Data

Amidst COVID European Renewables Notch Record Year

January 25, 2021 by Solar Industry Mag

Europe has recorded its greenest electricity year ever in 2020. For the first time, more electricity was generated from renewables than from fossil fuels. Renewables accounted for 38% of Europe’s electricity mix in 2020 – compared with only 37% for fossil fuels – according to a joint analysis by Agora Energiewende and Ember, a U.K.-based think tank.

The change was driven by the rapid growth of wind and solar power, which has almost doubled since 2015. By 2020, one-fifth of EU electricity came from wind and solar power plants. The highest shares were recorded in Denmark (61%), Ireland (35%), Germany (33%) and Spain (29%).

While renewables nearly doubled, coal-fired power generation has halved since 2015. In 2020 alone, it fell by a fifth. Coal-fired power plants supplied 13% of Europe’s electricity last year. By contrast, electricity generation from natural gas fell by only 4% in 2020. The background to this uneven development is the significant rise in the price of emissions certificates. As a result, comparatively climate-friendly gas-fired power plants often produced the cheapest electricity among fossil-fuel power plants.

“It is significant that Europe has reached this landmark moment at the start of a decade of global climate action,” says Dave Jones, Ember’s senior electricity analyst and lead author of the report. “Rapid growth in wind and solar has forced coal into decline. Europe is relying on wind and solar to ensure not only coal is phased out by 2030, but also to phase out gas generation, replace closing nuclear power plants and to meet rising electricity demand from electric cars, heat pumps and electrolyzers.”

To access Agora Energiewende and Ember’s recent analysis, The European Power Sector in 2020, click here.

Filed Under: Renewable, Solar

Primary Sidebar

Join The Daily Charge

This week's top 5 stories in your inbox. No spam ever.

Trending

  • Offshore Wind Market for Jack-Up Interventions on the Rise
  • New Golden Spiral Wind Turbine Proves Concept in Wind Test
  • Crowley, Watco Partner to Provide Offshore Wind Management Solutions
  • Orsted, PGE Partner on Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Projects
  • Masdar Closes on Hefty Portfolio of U.S. Clean Energy Projects
  • Texas Governor Receives TGE’s Wind Leadership Award
  • Maxeon Launches New Line of Bifacial Solar Panels
  • AVANGRID Expands Wind Generation in 2019
  • Nordex Group Installs the First N149/5.X Turbine
  • ROMEO Project Aims to Increase Lifetime of Offshore Substations, Foundations

Footer

Trending

  • Offshore Wind Market for Jack-Up Interventions on the Rise
  • New Golden Spiral Wind Turbine Proves Concept in Wind Test
  • Crowley, Watco Partner to Provide Offshore Wind Management Solutions
  • Orsted, PGE Partner on Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Projects
  • Masdar Closes on Hefty Portfolio of U.S. Clean Energy Projects

Recent

  • Quick Tips To A Sustainable Future
  • Stem Provides Smart Energy Storage Solutions to Today’s Power
  • EIA's AEO2021 shows U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions rising after the mid-2030s
  • Homeowners associations still a barrier for some would-be solar customers
  • Commentary: With open standards, U.S. can build EV charging infrastructure faster

Search

Contact Us

Write For Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 · EnergyNewsDesk.com