According to a study released on Thursday by Ember, the energy think tank, in 2024 solar energy in electricity production in the European Union surpassed coal for the first time. This has allowed renewable energies to cover almost half of the block’s electricity generation, reaching 47%.

The report, called the European Electricity Review, stresses that fossil fuels are losing their dominance in the EU energy system. According to Chris Rosslowe, lead author of the study, “When the European Green Deal began in 2019, few people thought the EU’s energy transition would be where it is today.” The growth of wind and solar energy has led to the abandonment of coal and the structural decline of gas.

The production of electricity from gas declined for the fifth year, and total electricity generation from fossil sources reached an all-time low. Fossil fuels went from generating 39% of electricity in 2019 to generating 29% in 2024. At the same time, the weight of renewable energies increased from 34% to 47%.

The EU saved 59 billion euros

Thanks to the growth of solar energy since 2019, the EU saved about 59 billion euros in fossil fuel imports, according to Rosslow. “Without this growth in wind and solar energy, the EU would have had to spend this amount on fossil fuels to produce electricity,” he says. In addition, emissions from the European electricity sector were halved compared to the 2007 peak.

The study also highlights that more than half of the EU countries have removed coal from their energy mix or reduced it to less than 5%. Solar energy is on the rise across the continent.

Looking to the future

Although progress has been made, the report warns of the need to accelerate efforts in some sectors. Rosslow reports that the wind sector needs to more than double its current capabilities by 2030. Walburga Hemetsberger, Managing Director of SolarPower Europe, stressed the importance of improving the flexibility and storage capacity of the European electricity system in order to adapt it to the characteristics of renewable energies.

The report suggests that the abundance of solar energy in 2024 affected market prices. In some cases, prices became negative during the hours of higher solar production, influenced by the law of demand and supply.