Solar derived energy was the fastest growing EU power source in 2024 with generation 22 per cent higher than in 2023.

The milestone is reported in Ember’s European Electricity Review, that tracks the progress of the transition of the EU electricity sector. Overall whilst solar power grew strongly, as coal and gas declined for the fifth year in a row for gas, EU power sector emissions fell to below half their 2007 peak.

“Fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU energy,” said Dr Chris Rosslowe, senior analyst and lead author of the report. “At the start of the European Green Deal in 2019, few thought the EU’s energy transition could be where it is today; wind and solar are pushing coal to the margins and forcing gas into structural decline.”

Solar (11 per cent, 304TWh) overtook coal (10 per cent, 269TWh) for the first time in 2024, meaning coal has fallen from being the third largest EU power source in 2019 to the sixth largest in 2024. The trend is widespread with solar growing in every EU country, while coal is becoming increasingly marginal. More than half of EU countries either have no coal power or a share below 5 per cent in their power mix.

Wind generation grew by 7TWh year-on-year in 2024 to reach 477TWh. While capacity additions continued in 2024, wind conditions were less favourable than in 2023, leading to lower than expected generation. However, Ember predicts that wind generation is likely to resume its rising trend. Annual capacity additions are expected to increase over the next five years, rising from an estimated 13GW in 2024 to nearly 30GW by 2030. Furthermore, offshore wind, which produces more electricity per GW than onshore installations, is expected to make up a progressively larger share of new capacity.

Gas power generation declined for the fifth year in a row, reducing total EU gas consumption by 20 per cent in the period with about a third of this decline occurring in the power sector.

In five years of the European Green Deal, a surge in wind and solar generation is the main reason for declining fossil generation. Without wind and solar capacity added since 2019, the EU would have imported 92 billion cubic metres more of fossil gas and 55 million tonnes more of hard coal, costing €59bn.

The European Green Deal has managed to deliver a transformation of the EU power sector. Driven by expanding wind and solar power, renewables have risen from a share of 34 per cent in 2019 to 47 per cent in 2024, as the fossil share declined from 39 per cent to a low of 29 per cent.

The European Electricity Review analyses full-year electricity generation and demand data for 2024 in all EU 27 countries to understand the region’s progress in transitioning from fossil fuels to clean electricity. It is the ninth annual report on the EU power sector published by Ember.

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