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Wind and solar power generation overtook fossil fuel electricity in the EU in the first half of 2024, for the first time, clean energy think tank said in a new report.
Between January and June, the share of wind and solar in the EU’s power mix was 30%, compared to 27% for fossil-powered electricity.
Power demand in the EU rose by 0.7% in the first half, rebounding from two years of declines during the energy crisis, Ember said, acknowledging that a mild 2023/2024 winter limited the rise in overall power demand.
Wind and solar combined overtook fossil fuel power generation in 13 EU Member States, with four of these hitting the milestone for the first time in 2024 over a January-June period: Germany, Belgium, Hungary, and the Netherlands, according to the think tank.
Fossil fuel generation across the EU slumped in the first half of the year, by 17% compared to the same period of 2023. As a result, fossil fuels accounted for just 27% of total EU electricity generation in the first half of 2024, compared to 33% over the same period in 2023.
Both coal and natural gas power generation dropped, with coal plunging by 24% and gas declining by 14%, Ember said.
Surging solar and wind electricity output displaced one-fifth of the European Union’s fossil-fuel power generation between 2019 and 2023, Ember said in a report last month.
Despite the encouraging clean energy milestones in the first half of 2024, the EU needs additional policy support, including in easing bottlenecks and barriers to faster wind and solar deployment such as permitting and constraints in grid access, Ember noted in this week’s report.
Under current policy conditions and EU member states’ plans, the bloc would be short of reaching its target in the REPowerEU plan of 750 GWdc installed solar and the 425 GW wind capacity goal by 2030, the think tank says.
