Big return to coal in Europe killed off by record renewable energy
The bloc was facing a “triple crisis” of a race to replace its biggest supplier of gas, Russia, and extreme low nuclear and hydropower.
Tuesday 31 January 2023 12:29, UK
Special mounted solar panels are installed over a biological apple fruit tree plantation at an Agrivoltaics research project in Gelsdorf, western Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. The using of agricultural land to simultaneously produce agricultural crops and generate PV electricity, helps the farmer against consequences of climate change like strong sunlight, heavy rain and hail and produces renewables energy on the limited space. Pic: AP
Image:
Solar and wind power generate a fifth of the EU’s energy in 2022. Pic: AP
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For the first time ever, wind and solar generated more electricity in the European Union than any other source – preventing a feared return to coal as the continent battled an energy crisis.
As Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe last year, countries including the UK, Germany and Italy put more coal power on standby to fill the gaps, raising feared of increased greenhouse gas emissions from the most polluting fossil fuel.
But the bloc fended off a feared dramatic increase in burning coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, which is globally being phased down in a bid to curb climate change.
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Instead, wind and solar generated a record fifth (22%) of electricity in the EU in 2022, overtaking gas for the first time (20%).
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Ember, the green think tank that completed the analysis, celebrated the achievement amid a “triple crisis in the electricity sector”.
As Europe raced to cut ties with its biggest supplier of fossil gas, Russia, it also grappled with the lowest levels of hydropower for at least 20 years amid a severe drought.
At times, half of France’s vast nuclear power fleet were offline due to ongoing defects or a backlog of maintenance issues.
Coal power share did rise by 1.5 percentage points to generate 16% of electricity, but it amounted to only “a minor ripple in coal power and a huge wave of support for renewables”, said Ember’s head of data insights, Dave Jon
“Any fears of a coal rebound are now dead,” he added.
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Lower electricity demand also helped reduce the energy deficit, dropping by 7.9% in the last quarter of 2022 compared to the same period the previous year.
Mild weather was a significant factor, but concerns about costs, improved energy efficiency measures and “citizens acting in solidarity to cut energy demand in a time of crisis” likely also helped, Mr Ember said.
However, the EU remains one of the world’s largest emitters of climate-heating greenhouse gases, and its climate targets, policies, and finance are rated “insufficient” by the authoritative Climate Action Tracker.
Special mounted solar panels are installed over a biological apple fruit tree plantation at an Agrivoltaics research project in Gelsdorf, western Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. The using of agricultural land to simultaneously produce agricultural crops and generate PV electricity, helps the farmer against consequences of climate change like strong sunlight, heavy rain and hail and produces renewables energy on the limited space. Pic: AP
Image:
Solar and wind power generate a fifth of the EU’s energy in 2022. Pic: AP
Elif Gunduzyeli, Senior Energy Policy Expert at CAN Europe, said it should “should not take a fossil gas crisis to hit” to grasp that demand reduction and increased wind and solar “can replace fossil fuels in the electricity sector”.
Alexandru Mustata, coal campaigner at Europe Beyond Coal, warned that “countries like Bulgaria and Romania are trying to use the moment to construct a narrative that coal has a future.
“Given the depth of the crisis, and the small bounce for coal, it’s evidently clear that it hasn’t.”
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