Sun Is Powering Europe's Clean Energy Transition — Generated More Electricity Than Coal Did In 2024, Report Says 

Europe has achieved a landmark in clean energy: solar power generation surpassed coal in 2024, despite increased electricity demand.

The EU is on track to meet its 2025 target of installed solar capacity.

Source : Canva (modified)

The Sun is shining bright on Europe. In what is being called by analysts a “milestone” towards the path of clean energy, the continent generated more electricity in 2024 from sunshine than it did from coal, according to a new report.

Data shared by climate think tank Ember shows Europe generated 11% of its electricity in 2024 from solar panels, while its power plants running on coal generated 10% electricity. Fossil fuel, meanwhile, covered 16% of the power generation, with its use falling for the fifth year in a row — and this, despite a slight rebound in the demand for electricity, the report notes.

Calling this a milestone, Beatrice Petrovich, co-author of the report, said: “Coal is the oldest way of producing electricity, but also the dirtiest. Solar is the rising star.” 

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Why Solar Rose And Coal Fell

Unlike the sharp declines in EU's power demand observed over the previous two years, 2024 saw a modest increase of 31 TWh (+1%). Although small, this recovery was widespread, occurring in 22 out of 27 Member States and across all quarters of the year.

Germany stood out as an exception, with power demand remaining largely unchanged from 2023 levels, still 11% below 2019 figures. Overall, EU power demand remained 5% lower than pre-crisis levels in 2019, according to the Ember report. 

Whether this rebound signals the beginning of a long-term rise in demand — driven by trends like electrification, data centres, and air conditioning — remains uncertain, the report notes.

However, despite this rise in demand, largely due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the clean sources of energy saw a boom.

Coal had served as the primary energy source for Europe's industrialisation, but its utilisation resulted in the release of a greater volume of planet-warming pollutants compared to any other energy source. The peak of coal consumption within the EU's power sector occurred in 2007, experiencing a subsequent 50% decline since.

Solar and wind energy rose to 29% of the electricity generation in EU in 2024, even as hydropower and nuclear energy rebounded from the lows registered in 2022.

The Ember report finds that solar energy emerged as the fastest-growing power source in 2024, even though Europe got less sunshine than it did in 2023. It attributes this rise to a record amount of new panels used across the continent.

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EU On Track To Meet 2025 Target Of Installed Solar Capacity

While 17 countries are still using coal for power generation, its share fell in 16 of them, the report says, adding that this source of energy is now “marginal or absent” in most systems.

In Germany and Poland, where most of Europe’s coal is used to make electricity, the share of the fuel fell 17% and 8% year-on-year, respectively.

Meanwhile, the “structural decline” of fossil gas continued, as its share fell in 14 of the 26 countries using the fuel.

Stating that fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU's energy sector, Dr Chris Rosslowe, senior energy analyst at Ember who authored the report, said: "At the start of the European Green Deal in 2019, few thought the EU’s energy transition could be where it is today; wind and solar are pushing coal to the margins and forcing gas into structural decline." 

According to the report, the EU is on track to reach the 400GW target of installed solar capacity by 2025. It hit 338GW last year. The target for 2030 is 750GW, and the report says it's "within reach" if the current pace of growth is maintained.

"The EU is striding closer towards a clean energy future powered by homegrown wind and solar," Petrovich said. "This new energy system will reduce the bloc’s vulnerability to fossil price shocks, tackle the climate crisis and deliver affordable energy for its households and companies."