Renewables muscle fossil fuels out of EU electricity market, says research

For the first time in a year, solar and wind power were dominant in the European Union, marking a new high point in the transition to green and autonomous energy.

According to Ember, a global energy think tank, the two energy sources contributed 30% of EU electricity to the study’s European Electricity Review on Thursday, compared to 29% for coal and gas.

The “milestone moment” demonstrated Europe’s quick transition from greenhouse gas-emitting fuels, according to report author Beatrice Petrovich.

The share of renewables in the electricity market increased to 48 percent if biomass, which is produced from decaying agricultural and food waste, was added.

Another 23 percent of EU power was produced by nuclear energy, which is emissions-free.

What causes the solar power surge, exactly?

This positive turning point for Europe was achieved as a four-year, one-fifth surge in solar power, partially driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the disruption of pipeline gas supply.

According to Ember, the transition of Europe has taken place largely because of rooftop photovoltaic panels installed on homes rather than large investments in industrial-scale solar and wind farms.

Rooftop solar panels can meet 40% of EU needs, despite recent research suggesting that this pathway to energy autonomy is still being underused.

According to the International Energy Agency, the world’s leading energy think tank, solar and wind energy have been growing at record-yearly rates for 23 years, claiming an ever-increasing share of the electricity market. There was room for growth in coal and gas use because the overall electricity market was expanding. Ember claimed that has since changed.

Solar and wind power, according to an evaluation conducted in October, will soon outstrip fossil fuels for the first time in the world.

China and India, two of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters, saw a significant, simultaneous decline in coal use last year.

China’s coal-fired power decreased by 1%, the first drop in ten years.

“There is a ton of capacity being added.”

In 14 of the 27 member states of the EU, according to Ember, solar power has increased, but some industry insiders warned that too much ambition could have a negative impact.

According to Stelios Loumakis, president of the Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers in Greece, “in 2025, we reached an installed capacity] of solar photovoltaics of 12GW, an increase of 25% from the previous year’s 9.5GW.” Because supply exceeded demand, he claimed, the grid cut out a quarter of the power we produced.

This year, we anticipate a 40% increase in that percentage. Therefore, he said, “we are adding capacity inexorably while producers lose money.”

According to Loumakis, “Many of these investors are going to go bankrupt because there is now so much capacity being added.” The only way to avoid that is to install a lot of electricity storage, but there is still far too little construction going on.

According to Axios, the United States’ emissions increased by 2.4 percent last year after two years of declines, citing research by the Rhodium Group.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has been halting permits for offshore wind and solar parks, as well as pledges to keep all coal-fired power plants. Additionally, the US intends to reduce $ 24 billion in federal subsidies for climate initiatives that the previous Biden administration provided.

Wind and solar power accounted for 17% of the US’s electricity in 2024, according to Ember’s report from March.

In some cases, Trump’s reversals are being overturned.

This month, federal judges ordered the resumption of construction of significant wind parks offshore New York and Virginia, and more Trump administration injunctions were being litigated in court.