Europe’s Electricity Demand Roars Back, Driving Up Coal Generation

This report by Ember analyzes monthly electricity generation data in Europe, noting that EU electricity demand nearly returned to 2019 levels by August 2020, which contributed to a rise in coal generation.

• Electricity demand in the EU-27 recovered significantly by August 2020, falling only 2% compared to the previous year, a sharp increase from the 13% decline seen in April. Specific national trends showed demand increases in Slovakia (6%) and the Netherlands (4%), while France and Poland saw a 1% decrease and Germany remained 3% below the previous year.
• Coal generation in the EU-27 reached 27TWh in August 2020, the highest level since March of that year and only approximately 2TWh lower than August 2019. Germany was a primary driver of this increase, with its coal generation rising from 8TWh in July to 10TWh in August, allowing it to surpass Poland as the EU's largest coal generator for the first time since February.
• A shortfall in French nuclear output, which remained at record lows and was 5TWh lower than in August 2019, created a supply gap that was filled by fossil generation. While wind and solar grew during the pandemic, this growth was insufficient to offset the nuclear decline, leading fossil generation to return to levels similar to 2019.

APA

Graham, E. (2020). Europe’s Electricity Demand Roars Back, Driving Up Coal Generation. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/Europes-Electricity-Demand-Roars-Back-_-Ember-Sept-2020.pdf

Chicago

Graham, Euan. Europe’s Electricity Demand Roars Back, Driving Up Coal Generation. Ember, 2020. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/Europes-Electricity-Demand-Roars-Back-_-Ember-Sept-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Graham |first1=Euan |title=Europe’s Electricity Demand Roars Back, Driving Up Coal Generation |publisher=Ember |date=11 September 2020 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/Europes-Electricity-Demand-Roars-Back-_-Ember-Sept-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{graham2020europes, author = {Graham, Euan}, title = {{Europe’s Electricity Demand Roars Back, Driving Up Coal Generation}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2020/03/Europes-Electricity-Demand-Roars-Back-_-Ember-Sept-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }