In “Historic Shift” Renewables Overtake Fossil Fuels to Provide 30% of EU Electricity

As renewable energy use grows worldwide, solar and wind power have overtaken fossil fuels to generate 30% of the European Union’s electricity in the first half of 2024, according to a new report from think tank Ember.

By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

According to The Guardian, in the first half of this year, electricity production from oil, gas and coal fell by 17 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

Ember analyst Chris Rosslowe noted that the rise of wind and solar power is reducing the role of fossil fuels in electricity generation.

“We are witnessing a historic change in the energy sector, and it is happening very quickly,” Rosslowe said.

Report, Wind and solar power to overtake fossil fuels in the EU in the first half of 2024Emissions from the sector were found to have fallen by a third compared to the first half of 2022 due to the continued transition away from fossil fuels.

According to the report, from the first half of 2023 to the first half of this year, power plants in the European Union burned 14 percent less gas and 24 percent less coal, even though there was a slight increase in electricity demand as a result of the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.

“Wind and solar generated 30% of EU electricity in the first half of the year, compared to 27% from fossil fuels. In total, wind and solar overtook fossil fuel generation in thirteen Member States, with four of them reaching this milestone for the first time in 2024 in the January-June period: Germany, Belgium, Hungary and the Netherlands,” the report reads.

According to The Guardian, if renewable energy sources such as hydropower were included in the calculations, the total share of clean energy in the EU’s energy mix would be 50 percent.

“(S)ustainability of the EU’s energy transition at this pace will require targeted policies to mitigate barriers to the integration of wind and solar energy. Appropriate support for grid connections and other enablers of rapid deployment will be needed to deliver economic, security and climate benefits across Europe,” the report reads.

While Europe has always been one of the biggest polluters, it also has ambitious goals for creating a green energy economy.

“If member states can maintain the momentum for wind and solar deployment, then freedom from fossil fuel dependency will really start to become apparent,” Rosslowe said, according to The Guardian.

High inflation and public and political opposition have left the wind industry struggling while the solar sector is booming.

A record 16.2 gigawatts of new wind capacity was expected to be installed in the EU in 2023, according to Wind Power Europe, which is about half of the amount needed to meet the 2030 climate targets.

“In the first half of 2024, strong winds dominated northern Europe, where most wind power is generated,” Andrea Hahmann, a researcher at Denmark Technical University, told The Guardian. “‘Pushing the boundaries’ shows that the EU’s energy transition is possible and we should not be pessimistic. The renewable energy targets that need to be met are significant but achievable with the right policy measures.”

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Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from the University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways and the travel biography Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.

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