https://electrek.co/2024/02/06/eu-coal-and-gas-collapse-wind-and-solar-ascend/ In a ‘monumental shift’, EU coal and gas collapse as wind and solar ascend Michelle Lewis | Feb 6 2024 Europe’s coal electricity generation tanked by 26% and gas by 15% in 2023, according to a new report from energy think tank Ember. That collapse resulted in an impressive 19% reduction in the EU’s power sector emissions. What’s more, for the first time, wind power, which grew by 18%, surpassed gas, which only accounted for 17% of Europe’s electricity. Wind and solar power are now taking center stage. Together, they hit a new high, generating 27% of the EU’s electricity in 2023. Solar covered 9% of the EU’s electricity needs. With hydroelectric power also bouncing back, renewables reached a record 44% share of the EU’s power mix. “The EU’s power sector is in the middle of a monumental shift,” said Sarah Brown, Ember’s Europe program director. “Fossil fuels are playing a smaller role than ever as a system with wind and solar as its backbone comes into view.” Interestingly, Europe’s shift away from fossil fuels wasn’t just about swapping coal and gas for wind and solar. People and businesses used less electricity overall, with demand dropping by 3.4% compared to 2022. A significant chunk of this reduction came from industries dialing back their power use. But as Europe moves more toward EVs, heat pumps, and other electrification, electricity demand is expected to rise again. This means renewables need to keep up the pace, especially since the EU is aiming for wind and solar to provide 55% of its power by 2030. Ember’s report also points out that in 2023, Europe increasingly relied on wind and solar, as 24% of hours in 2023 saw less than a quarter of electricity coming from fossil fuels, a major step up from just 4% of hours in 2022. The takeaway? The EU’s energy landscape is transforming fast, driven by the need for clean power and the urgency of the climate crisis. Coal and gas are on their way out, and renewables are stepping up. But there’s no room for complacency – Europe needs to double down on deploying wind, solar, and the tech that supports them.
actually they will fail just as the us has it's all a scam to use taxpayers money so politicians can get kick backs.
european's supply chain is in russia, it was obvious for merkel, now they are f*ked, buying lng from us is not a soolution. then again, didn't mention nuclear power.
That's a cynical view of the future! Europe doesn't operate like the US. Elections are financed by the state which allocates funds equally based on levels of popular support gathered from official poles. Also, there's much more scrutiny in Europe over fund allocation if national or European governments finance an alternative energy project.
The Germans have certainly screwed themselves by shutting down their nuclear plants in favor of local coal and Russian gas. This is only a temporary set back for Europe and a lesson on energy supply. It's as if the Russia-Ukraine conflict came just at the right time to remind Europeans how unhealthy it is to depend on Russia for European energy security...
I just wonder what the EU will do when the US starts the next war... Will Europe react similar and sanction the US, like they did to Russia? B/c if not, then EU would have no credibility left anymore (b/c of applying illogical double-standards) , maybe even leading to civil unrest and new wars in Europe, breaking-apart of coalition govts (there are many), even overthrow of govts etc. Europe already has some far-right governments, the next stage is getting some NeoNazi governments... like is the case in many eastern states/regions of Germany with the far-right AfD party and their "völkisch ideology", ie. Nazi-ideology... It is making some "successful" politics mainly by using ressentiments against foreigners and minorities... AfD is really a shame for Germany that already has such a bad past; bad things just repeat again in Germany... That country seems to have a genetic-defect or so...
You're probably Russian from your writing style, so there's no point making long arguments over who started the war and how the world views Putin's Russia. I'm just sorry for the Russian people and in particular the Russian men who are being butchered. War is ugly and generally senseless.
@VicBee, I'm only applying some what-if type logic into politics (if that's possible at all ) It's not about the Russo-Ukra war, but the credibility of the EU and Europe, and the current and upcoming political situation there. It's getting uglier in Europe by every passing day... I even expect some pograms soon against minorities... Mark my words!... I really would be surprised if none of you political observers see any such bad signs upcoming in current day Europe...
Americans are positive people in general, and I am. Although, I left America after Trump's election, wanting no part in this white supremacist fascist agenda promoted by a few ideologues and supported by a shockingly significant percentage of the Republican party. Unlike in America, Europe's fascist parties have been around for a long time. Politicians of all sides have had to include nationalist influenced speeches to keep the extremes from winning elections for many years. But today it's clear that nationalisms are gaining ground throughout Europe. Poverty, the massive influx of Africans and Middle Easterners and lack of integration, violence and petty criminality is fodder for those who seek a reversal to authoritarian and /or white Europe.
Hmm. it seems you think it's the minorities (foreigners, refugees) guilt as the reason for the fascist again gaining power throughout Europe. But this is wrong! The fascist parties just cleverly instrumentalise and use this as a pretext for their own political agenda b/c it simply works in European sicko "we and them" mentaility culture, since the minorities don't have any voice in media and elsewhere. It's the European mentaility, a sicko mentality as they still havent't learned about individual freedoms b/c European politics is about suppression of all the people, not about individual freedoms (as in the US where individual freedom is a constitutionalized right); the Euros still think in discriminatory matters of groupings like "we" and "them"... IMO that's also the eternal core of the problem especially in such European countries like Germany, Austria, Denmark, Belgium etc., and to a lesser degree even in France and Sweden... Goebbel's propaganda methods still work in sicko Europe, calling others as "subhumans", "rats" etc. That's their sicko culture, seems even to have become their "nature"...