European wind and solar power plants reach new milestone, generating more electricity than fossil fuels

Data provided by energy think tank Ember show that wind and solar power plants generated more electricity in the EU in May than fossil fuels. This was the first time they had outproduced fossil fuel power plants in any month. Nearly a third of the EU’s electricity was generated from wind and solar in May (31%, 59 TWh), while fossil fuels accounted for a record low of 27% (53 TWh).

Several factors came together to achieve this significant milestone, particularly a major increase in solar generation, strong wind output and low electricity demand. Solar power generated a record 14% of the EU’s electricity in May, reaching an all-time high of 27 TWh and surpassing the monthly solar records set in July last year. For the first time, solar generation in the EU overtook coal, which produced just 10% of the bloc’s electricity in May.

As data from EMBER show, wind power increased year on year, generating 17% of the EU’s electricity in May (32 TWh). However, this did not surpass the January record, when wind generated 23% (54 TWh) of the EU’s electricity.

Record-low coal use also helped

Strong wind and solar generation caused coal-fired electricity generation in the EU to fall to a record monthly low in May. Just 10% (20 TWh) of the EU’s electricity came from its most polluting source. May’s record-low coal generation was just below the previous record during the pandemic lockdowns, when coal power generated slightly more than 10% of the EU’s electricity in April 2020. Fossil gas recorded its lowest share of generation since 2018, accounting for just 15% of electricity in May.

Additions to renewable capacity and declining electricity demand had already led to a fall in fossil fuel use at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. From January to May this year, coal and gas generation fell by 20% and 15%, respectively, compared with the same period in 2022, while solar power increased by 10% and wind by 5%. In its analysis of the European electricity market published in January, Ember found that wind and solar generation had overtaken gas-fired generation in the EU in 2022. It was the first full year in which this had happened. Now, wind and solar generated more electricity than all fossil fuels combined in a single month.

The decline in fossil fuel generation is being seen across the EU. Despite Germany closing its last nuclear power plants at the beginning of the year, coal generation fell to its lowest level (7 TWh), largely thanks to low demand, strong wind and solar output, and increased electricity imports. In Poland, coal generation fell to a record low (62%, 7 TWh).