The European Union’s electricity system has continued its rapid shift towards renewables, led by wind and solar. Reliance on fossil fuel generation reached an all-time low in the first half of 2024, even though electricity demand increased and power prices returned to pre-crisis levels, according to a recent report from Ember, an independent energy think tank that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition with data and policy.
According to the report, the momentum behind the clean-energy transition is spreading, as nearly half of E.U. member states generated more electricity from wind and solar than from fossil fuels in the first six months of 2024.
Fossil generation continued to fall to new lows, even as demand rebounded. Fossil fuels generated 17 percent less (–71 terawatt-hours) in the first half of 2024, compared with the same period in 2023, falling to 27 percent of generation (343 terawatt-hours). Coal fell by a quarter (–24 percent, –39 terawatt-hou