The proportion of electricity produced from fossil fuels fell to 33% in the European Union in the first half of the year, its lowest level in history, indicates a report published on Wednesday August 30 by the think tank dedicated to climate and energy. energy. Between January and June, “fossil fuels generated 410 TWh in the EU, the lowest share of the electricity mix ever recorded, at 33%”, specifies Ember in its report, against nearly 36% for the whole renewables, including some 27% for solar and wind, according to data provided by Ember to AFP. “The decline of fossil fuels is a sign of the times. Coal and gas are too expensive, too risky and the EU is phasing them out,” said Ember analyst Matt Ewen.
Main reason: demand for electricity has fallen significantly on the continent, from households and factories, and it is first coal and gas plants that have been slowed down, reducing their share in total production. The production of fossil electricity in coal or gas power plants fell by 17% between January and June compared to the first half of 2022, specifies the report. Five EU member countries even experienced a drop of more than 30% (Portugal, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland). Electricity production from coal fell by 23%, representing for the first time less than 10% of the European electricity mix in May. From gas, it fell 13%.
The authors of the report warn of the need to “massively” increase the deployment of renewable energies, in particular solar and wind, “to support a resilient economy across Europe” and to compensate in a sustainable way for the decline production of electricity from fossil fuels. In volume, renewable production is not sufficient, as it stands, to offset the decline in electricity produced from fossil fuels, which amounted to 86 TWh, while renewables only increased at the same time as just under 40 TWh.
Solar energy increased by 13% (13 TWh) during the half-year compared to the first six months of 2022, and wind energy by 4.8% (10 TWh). Hydropower increased by 11% (15 TWh). The report also recalls that the production of nuclear energy should recover, after having been at half mast in early 2023 due to a strong unavailability of the French nuclear fleet, the first in Europe.
