Wind and solar power overtake gas across EU

• 1 year, 9 months ago (2023-02-01)
• David Flin

Europe 1088 Renewables 776 Solar 272 Wind 256

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The EU generated a record 22.3 per cent of its electricity in 2022 through wind and solar power, overtaking natural gas, at 19.9 per cent, according to a report by energy think tank Ember , published in the European Electricity Review.

The report said: “A 1 in 500-year drought across Europe led to the lowest level of hydropower generation since 2000, and there were widespread unexpected French nuclear outages just as German nuclear units were closing. This created a large 185 TWh supply gap in generation equal to 7 per cent of Europe’s total electricity demand in 2022.”

The EU’s nuclear power generation dropped by 16 per cent last year. Of this, 69 per cent was due to outages in France and 27 per cent was as the result of closure of German nuclear plants.

Record rises in wind and solar power generation balanced the hydropower and nuclear deficit. Power generation from solar rose by 39 TWh, or 24 per cent, in 2022.

In total, 20 EU countries set new records for solar power generation in 2022, with the Netherlands getting 14 per cent of its power from solar, overtaking coal-powered generation for the first time.

Electricity generation from natural gas was almost unchanged, up 0.8 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021.

Dave Jones, Head of Data Insights for Ember, said: “Europe has avoided the worst of the energy crisis. The shocks of 2022 only caused a minor ripple in coal power and a huge wave of support for renewables. Any fears of a coal rebound are now dead.”