European Electricity Review

In 2025, the EU reached a milestone where wind and solar generated more electricity (30.1%) than all fossil fuel sources (29.0%) for the first time on record. Solar generation grew by 20.1% to reach a record 369 TWh, while coal fell to a historic low of 9.2% of the mix. Despite this, gas generation rose by 8% due to low hydro output, increasing the EU power sector's gas import bill by 16% to €32 billion. The report highlights the role of a growing battery pipeline—exceeding 10 GW of large batteries in 2025—in reducing reliance on expensive gas and mitigating the curtailment of clean power, particularly in Germany.

• For the first time on record, wind and solar combined generated more electricity in the EU than all fossil fuel sources in 2025, accounting for 30.1% (841 TWh) compared to 29.0% (809 TWh) for fossils.
• Solar power experienced record growth in 2025, increasing by 20.1% (62 TWh) to reach a total of 369 TWh, which represents over 13% of EU electricity.
• Coal generation reached a new historic low of 9.2% in 2025, with 19 EU countries reporting coal as less than 5% of their power mix. Ireland ceased burning coal in June 2025, and Finland effectively phased it out in April 2025.
• Gas generation increased by 8% (+34 TWh) in 2025, primarily driven by reduced hydro output. This led to a 16% increase in the EU power sector's gas import bill, totaling €32 billion.
• The deployment of large-scale batteries in the EU exceeded 10 GW in 2025, more than double the 4 GW capacity recorded in 2023. A project pipeline in Germany and Poland could potentially push capacity beyond 40 GW.
• In Germany, the use of batteries to absorb curtailed wind and solar generation (estimated at 9.6 TWh in 2025) could have reduced gas generation by 3.7% (3 TWh) and avoided €0.8 billion in redispatch and gas purchase costs.

APA

Candlin, A., Czyżak, P., Fulghum, N., Smith, H. G., Heberer, L., Kaelin, C., Miranda, R., Orso, L., Petrovich, B., & Rosslowe, C. (2026). European Electricity Review. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/EMBER-Report-European-Electricity-Review-2026.pdf

Chicago

Candlin, Alison, Paweł Czyżak, Nicolas Fulghum, Hannah Granados Smith, Leo Heberer, Claire Kaelin, Raul Miranda, et al. European Electricity Review. Ember, 2026. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/EMBER-Report-European-Electricity-Review-2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{candlin2026european, author = {Candlin, Alison and Czyżak, Paweł and Fulghum, Nicolas and Smith, Hannah Granados and Heberer, Leo and Kaelin, Claire and Miranda, Raul and Orso, Lauren and Petrovich, Beatrice and Rosslowe, Chris}, title = {{European Electricity Review}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2026}, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/01/EMBER-Report-European-Electricity-Review-2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }