Solar energy surpasses coal in EU for first time
by AFP Workers Writers
Paris (AFP) Jan 23, 2025
Photo voltaic overtook coal within the European Union’s electrical energy manufacturing in 2024, with the share of renewables rising to nearly half the bloc’s energy sector, in line with a report launched Thursday.
Gasoline era, in the meantime, declined for the fifth 12 months in a row and fossil-fuelled energy dipped to a “historic low”, local weather suppose tank Ember mentioned in its European Electrical energy Overview 2025.
“The European Inexperienced Deal has delivered a deep and fast transformation of the EU energy sector,” the suppose tank mentioned.
“Photo voltaic remained the EU’s fastest-growing energy supply in 2024, rising above coal for the primary time. Wind energy remained the EU’s second-largest energy supply, above fuel and under nuclear.”
Total, sturdy progress in photo voltaic and wind have boosted the share of renewables to 47 %, up from 34 % in 2019.
Fossil fuels have fallen from 39 to 29 %.
“A surge in wind and photo voltaic era is the primary cause for declining fossil era. With out wind and photo voltaic capability added since 2019, the EU would have imported 92 billion cubic metres extra of fossil fuel and 55 million tonnes extra of exhausting coal, costing EUR59 billion,” the report mentioned.
Based on Ember, these developments are widespread throughout Europe, with solar energy progressing in all EU international locations.
Greater than half have now both eradicated coal, probably the most polluting fossil gasoline, or diminished its share to lower than 5 % of their power combine.
“Fossil fuels are shedding their grip on EU power,” mentioned Chris Rosslowe, lead writer of the report.
“At the beginning of the European Inexperienced Deal in 2019, few thought the EU’s power transition could be the place it’s in the present day: wind and photo voltaic are relegating coal to the margins and pushing fuel into decline.”
– Battery storage –
However Rosslowe cautioned a lot work stays.
“We have to speed up our efforts, notably within the wind energy sector,” he mentioned.
Europe’s electrical energy system may also want to extend its storage capability to benefit from renewable energies, that are by definition intermittent, he added.
In 2024, plentiful photo voltaic power helped drive down costs in the course of the day, generally even leading to “damaging or zero value hours” resulting from an overabundance of provide in comparison with demand.
“A available answer is a battery co-located with a photo voltaic plant. This provides solar energy producers extra management over the costs they obtain and helps them keep away from promoting for low costs in the course of the day,” the report mentioned.
The suppose tank prompt customers might cut back their payments by shifting utilization to durations of abundance (sensible electrification), whereas battery operators might earn income from shopping for energy when costs are low and promoting it again when demand peaks.
Batteries have superior considerably lately, with put in capability throughout the EU doubling to 16 GW in 2023, in contrast with 8 GW in 2022, in line with Ember.
However this capability is concentrated in only a small variety of international locations: 70 % of current batteries have been positioned in Germany and Italy on the finish of 2023.
“Extra storage and demand flexibility is required to maintain progress and for customers to reap the complete advantages of plentiful photo voltaic,” Ember mentioned.
“After a difficult few years for the wind energy sector, additions are set to develop, however not by sufficient to hit EU targets. Closing this hole would require continued coverage implementation and political help, such that the speed of additives between now and 2030 is greater than double that of latest years.”
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