Electricity generation from wind and solar surpasses fossil fuels for the first time in the EU
Electricity generation from wind and solar surpassed the total share of all fossil fuels in electricity generation in the European Union (EU) for the first time last month, reaching 31 percent.
Fossil fuels accounted for 27 percent (53 terawatt hours) of electricity generation in the EU in May, according to analysis by London-based think tank Ember.
Wind and sun, on the other hand, provided 31 percent of the total electricity with 59 terawatt hours of production. The share of wind and sun in electricity generation has outstripped all fossil fuels for the first time in a full month.
The share of solar energy in EU electricity generation reached an all-time high last month, reaching 14 percent. 27 terawatt hours of solar electricity produced in May exceeded the record production reached in July last year.
More electricity was produced from the sun than coal for the first time in the EU. Coal’s share in EU electricity generation stood at 10 percent in May.
The share of wind, on the other hand, continued to increase by 17 percent on an annual basis, but this rate remained above the record production level of 23 percent reached in January. under left.
Due to the increase in electricity generation from wind and solar, the share of coal in production hit an all-time low on a monthly basis in May. The 10% share of coal was even below the production during the epidemic period.
According to Ember’s analysis, the decline in electricity generation from fossil fuels last month proved to be an exceptional case.
In the January-May period of this year, electricity generation from coal and gas decreased by 20 and 15 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year, while production from solar and wind grew by 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
Ember Europe Leader Sarah Brown, in her evaluation of the data, stated that Europe’s electricity transformation took place with records in clean energy, “Solar and wind do not only help reduce fossil fuel use. Not only electricity generation from coal also sees the bottom, gas is also shaky. The EU is out of fossil fuels this year. Wind and solar are already forming the backbone of the future electricity system, as we prepare for a major reduction in electricity generation.”
