Wind and solar produced more energy in the EU in May than all fossil fuels combined, as stated by energy think tank Ember. This is the first full month on record where wind and solar produced more power – generating almost a third of the EU’s electicity. Fossil fuels produced a record low of 27 per cent.
“Europe’s electricity transition has hit hyperdrive,” says Ember’s Europ lead Sarah Brown.
“Clean power keeps smashing record after record.”
Solar alone is responsible for 14 percent of the EU’s electricity in May: an all-time high.
Even without the summer sun, it beat coal power for the first time which generated just a tenth of the total last month.
Electricity generation from wind power also increased compared to May last year. But didn’t quite reach a record set this January where it contributed 23 percent of the EU’s power.
Portugal installed 0.9 GW of solar panels in 2022, increasing its solar capacity by more than 50 per cent to 2.5 GW – enough to power around 1 million homes. This extra capacity increased the country’s wind and solar generation to over 50 percent of electricity production in April.
Other EU nations, including Spain, Sweden and Belgium have also reached all-time highs for renewable generation this year.
With coal generating only 10 percent of power and gas reaching its lowest share since 2018 at 15 per cent, fossil fuel power is continuing to fall in the EU.
Record amounts of new wind and solar helped the EU avoid the “triple crisis” of restrictions on Rusian gas supplies, problems with hydropower due to drought and unexpected nuclear outages.
“Not only did coal power set new lows, but gas is also tumbling,” says Brown.
“The EU is on track for a huge collapse in fossil power this year, as wind and solar emerge as the backbone of the future electricity system.”