EU Power Sector in 2020

The report analyzes the EU power sector in 2020, highlighting a landmark moment where renewables generated 38% of electricity, overtaking fossil-fired generation for the first time. While coal generation saw a significant decline, the report notes that the transition speed remains insufficient to meet 2030 and 2050 climate targets, partly due to the persistence of gas generation and a record drop in nuclear output.

• In 2020, renewables became the largest source of electricity in the EU, generating 38% of the total, while fossil-fired generation fell to 37%. This milestone was also achieved at the national level by Germany, Spain, and the UK.
• Wind and solar were the primary drivers of renewable growth, together providing 20% of Europe's electricity in 2020. Wind supplied 14% (up from 9% in 2015) and solar supplied 5% (up from 3% in 2015). Denmark led the EU in this area, generating 62% of its electricity from these two sources.
• Coal generation decreased by 20% in 2020 to 365 terawatt-hours, representing a 48% drop since 2015. Coal provided only 13% of Europe's electricity in 2020. However, only half of the coal decline since 2015 was replaced by wind and solar; the rest was offset by increased gas generation and pandemic-related demand drops.
• Nuclear generation experienced a record 10% decline in 2020, the largest drop since at least 1990. This was caused by outages in France (down 44TWh), problems in Belgium (down 9TWh), and plant closures in Sweden (Ringhals 1) and Germany (Phillipsburg).
• To meet the EU's 2030 target of 55% greenhouse gas emission reductions, annual wind and solar additions must nearly triple to approximately 100 TWh/year. Current national energy and climate plans only account for about 72 TWh/year.

APA

Ember (2021). EU Power Sector in 2020. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-power-sector-in-2020

Chicago

Ember. EU Power Sector in 2020. 2021. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-power-sector-in-2020.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=EU Power Sector in 2020 |date=24 January 2021 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-power-sector-in-2020 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2021power, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{EU Power Sector in 2020}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-power-sector-in-2020}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }