Headline Trends EU-27 Power Sector in 2021

In 2021, EU-27 electricity demand nearly returned to 2019 levels, with renewables reaching a record 1068 TWh and accounting for 37% of production. A critical shift occurred in the second half of 2021 when soaring gas prices made fossil gas more expensive than coal, leading new renewable output to predominantly replace gas rather than coal. While wind and solar output hit record highs (547 TWh), overall power sector emissions fell by an average of 2.5% per year since 2019, which is less than half the 6% annual decline required to align with a 1.5C pathway. Nuclear power continued a long-term structural decline, accounting for 26% of production in 2021.

• EU electricity demand in 2021 rose 3.4% (+95 TWh) year-on-year, nearly recovering the 3.5% (-100 TWh) drop seen between 2019 and 2020. However, because 2021 was colder than 2019, weather-corrected demand has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic.
• Fossil fuel generation rose 4% (+43 TWh) in 2021 to 1069 TWh due to recovering demand, but remained 6% (-64 TWh) lower than 2019 levels. Fossil fuels provided 37% of EU electricity in 2021, with gas accounting for 18% (524 TWh) and coal for 15% (436 TWh).
• A price shock in 2021, where gas prices rose 585%, made fossil gas more expensive than coal from July onwards. This caused a paradigm shift where new renewable generation predominantly replaced expensive gas instead of coal; since 2019, 52% of new renewable generation replaced gas, while only a sixth replaced coal.
• Renewable electricity reached a record 1068 TWh in 2021 (37% of EU production). Wind and solar output specifically hit a record of 547 TWh, surpassing fossil gas (524 TWh) for the first time. Growth was driven by Spain, the Netherlands, and Greece, which together accounted for over half of all EU wind and solar output growth since 2019.
• Coal power declines were primarily driven by plant closures in countries like Spain, Czechia, Greece, Italy, Romania, and Portugal. However, these were offset by increases elsewhere, most notably in Poland, where coal power output rose 7% (+8 TWh) since 2019.
• Nuclear power output in 2021 was 733 TWh (26% of EU production), which is 4% lower than in 2019. This decline was led by France, Sweden, and Germany, all of which closed at least 1.8 GW of nuclear capacity since the end of 2019.
• EU power sector emissions in 2021 were 700 MT CO2eq, representing an average annual decline of 2.5% since 2019. This is less than half the 6% annual decline required to reach zero emissions by 2035 for a 1.5C pathway.

APA

Ember (2022). Headline Trends EU-27 Power Sector in 2021. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/headline-trends-eer2022/

Chicago

Ember. Headline Trends EU-27 Power Sector in 2021. 2022. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/headline-trends-eer2022/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Headline Trends EU-27 Power Sector in 2021 |date=1 February 2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/headline-trends-eer2022/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2022headline, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Headline Trends EU-27 Power Sector in 2021}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/headline-trends-eer2022/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }