EU: Renewables speed past fossil fuels

Source: Ember

 From BusinessGreen.

Clean energy generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU over the first six months of 2020, largely due to a raft of new solar and wind installations dominating an electricity market pinched by Covid-19, new findings have shown.

A report published yesterday by climate think tank Ember notes that between January and June renewables generated 40 per cent of Europe's electricity, for the first time ever eclipsing the electricity share generated by gas and coal.

Despite electricity demand falling by seven per cent across the EU due to Covid-19 shutdowns, electricity generation from renewables shot up by 11 per cent due to a growing number of wind and solar installations and favourable weather conditions, the report notes. Across the six month period, wind and solar contributed to 22 per cent of Europe's electricity generation. [The remaining 18% is from hydro and biomass]

Fossil fuels, on the other hand, suffered from the fall in electricity demand, with coal and gas generation plummeting 18 per cent overall to make up just over a third of bloc's overall electricity share. The reduction in fossil fuel generation led to a 23 per cent drop in carbon emissions, the report notes.

Dave Jones, senior electricity analyst at Ember, said the findings marked a "symbolic moment" for the European power sector, given only a decade ago coal and gas far outstripped supply from the then-nascent renewables sector. "That's fast progress from just nine years ago when fossil fuels generated twice as much as renewables," he said.

As the world and the European economies recover from the covid crash, demand for electricity will rise.  Electricity demand in Europe will increase by perhaps 3% in 2021 and the same in 2022, though it is quite possible that the economic recovery will be sluggish.  With wind and solar growing by 10% per annum, the rise in the amount of electricity generated from wind and solar will only be 2.2%, so the percentage from fossil fuels will rise again.  However, by 2023 or 24, the rise in renewables will be greater than the rise in electricity demand, and the percentage from fossil fuels will start to decline.  Each year, the absolute and the percentage decline will increase.  If, however, renewables increase by 14% each year, then the percentage of electricity generated from renewables will merely pause in its upward trend in 2021 and 2022 before resuming its uptrend.