In a new report on the EU’s electricity transition in 2024, energy think-tank Ember reveals that solar power remained the fastest-growing energy source in the EU’s electricity mix in 2024, overtaking coal for the first time.
Solar capacity additions reached a record level and production was 22% higher than in 2023. With this growth, coal went from being the EU’s third largest source of electricity generation in 2019 to the sixth largest in 2024.
Gas also declined for the fifth year in a row. Combined with another coal decline, this means that total emissions from the electricity sector in 2024 were below half their 2007 peak.
Overall, renewable energies have risen from a 34% share of EU electricity in 2019 to 47% in 2024, as the share of fossil fuels declined from 39% to a historic low of 29%.
While Ember acknowledges that “the progress made in the first half of this decade is impressive”, it believes that “an acceleration is needed between now and 2030”.
For wind power, the generation growth between 2023 and 2024 (7 TWh) was lower than the average year-on-year increase seen between 2019 and 2023 (30 TWh).
“It has become clear that processes at EU and national level for developing grids, permitting new projects and managing grid connections were inadequate for the pace of the energy transition”, the analysis points out.
As for solar energy, “accelerated clean flexibility and smart electrification are needed to sustain solar growth”.
In addition, Chris Rosslow, lead author of the report, pointed out during a webinar that the EU “is still importing Russian gas, and we estimate that 12% of gas power will be actually fuelled by Russian gas this year, so there is more work to do”.
At the same time, “Europe has increased its reliance on LNG (liquefied natural gas)”, he added. “This represents an economic risk, because (...) LNG is expensive and markets are inherently volatile”.
To see the analysis: https://aeur.eu/f/f6m (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)