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Europe has started the year by reaching a milestone: solar energy is the source that grew the fastest in the EU during 2024, surpassing coal for the first time.
The meteoric rise. A recent report from Ember has highlighted that, in the last ten years, solar production has tripled, while wind energy has doubled in the same period, but stagnating in the last year. Analysis results have demonstrated That this growth has pushed fossil fuels to their lowest level in 40 years.
Decline of coal. In 2019 the Green Dealofficially declaring a “climate emergency.” From that moment on, the European Commission was required to adapt all its proposals to limit global warming to 1.5ºC. At that time, coal was the third largest source of energy along with gas. Currently, it is in sixth place by 10%.
In one statement with ReutersReport analyst Chris Rosslowe noted: “Over the last two years we have seen sharp declines in both coal and gas in the EU energy system and fossil fuels are now at a record low.” This marginality that the analyst speaks of lies in the increase in solar and wind generation by the Twenty-Seven, which has helped avoid imports worth 59 billion euros. Furthermore, as stated in its own report, more than half of the member countries do not have coal-based energy or only have a share of less than 5% in their electricity mix.
And what about the gas? Although there was a small rebound in electricity demand, gas generation decreased for the fifth consecutive year. In the last five years, total gas consumption in the EU was reduced by 20%, of which a third corresponds to the electricity sector. This change has been driven by the growth of renewable energies, especially solar and wind, which in 2024 prevented gas consumption for electricity generation from being 11% higher.
However, it should be noted that gas consumption has been altered by the War in Ukraine. At the beginning of the conflict, Europe’s energy dependence on Russian gas became visible, which led to a response accelerated to diversify energy supply and reduce vulnerability to geopolitical tensions.
Stagnation of wind power. The European Union has predicted that in 2030 wind energy will reach 34% of its electrical mix, but as Rosslowe indicated For Reuters, “more actions” are needed to achieve that goal. The analyst’s statements are based on the fact that this last year wind power has only grown by 7 TWh year-on-year, reaching 477 TWh. These data reflect a decrease with respect to the average of 30 TWh of the last five years, but installation rates are expected to increase in the coming years.
For more than four years, the costs of wind energy have been have stagnated due to high inflation and supply chain problems derived from the Covid-19 pandemic and the global energy crisis. In addition, the wind sector has been harmed more than the solar sector due to longer delivery times and higher initial investment requirements. However, the report maintains that wind energy will continue to be competitive compared to gas generation, thanks to future measures taken by the EU.
The division in the nuclear. Given the rise of data centers, nuclear energy has become the fetish source of large technology companieswho consider it ideal for its uninterrupted use. Specifically, in Europe, nuclear energy continues to recover from 2022 and is generating 24% of electricity.
Here arises one of the major divisions of the EUsince there are member countries that are in favor of continuing to invest in this energy, such as Finland, Slovakia, Hungary and France, the latter opening a new nuclear power plant after 25 years. On the other hand, other countries such as Germany, Belgium and Spain are in the process of gradually reducing or eliminating this energy source. In this last group was Italy, which recently has finalized a bill to return to nuclear energy. This situation glimpses one of the challenges that Europe will have to face in the coming years.
The problem with the price. Although the report has presented the European Union’s good construction towards the energy transition, they still have to face the increase in electricity prices. Europe has two challenges ahead: the phenomenon known as “dunkelflaute” and an aging power grid. The first refers to periods of low renewable production due to lack of wind and sun. For its part, the limitations in the networks occur due to their longevity. These problems are combined with a growing demand for energy, which further complicates the situation.
Spain and Portugal at the head of Europe. Within the Twenty-seven member states, Spain and Portugal have led the energy transition with 82% of electricity generation coming from renewable sources. Of this percentage, the combination of solar and wind energy reached almost 50%.
In particular, Spain recorded a continuous increase in photovoltaic generation, reaching 21% of its electricity almost double the European average (11%). Furthermore, the Iberian country is the second country in Europe with the most solar energy generation, only behind Germany.
Forecasts. In a statement collected by Carbon BriefChris Rosslowe said that while the EU’s energy transition has moved faster over the past five years, “we should take nothing for granted.” Furthermore, he adds that the goals achieved should generate “confidence” because they demonstrate the “effort and commitment” for a more sustainable energy future for Europe.
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