EU fossil generation below 25% for the first month ever

In April 2024, fossil fuel generation in the EU fell to a record monthly low of 23%, with coal and gas both seeing significant declines. This shift was driven by record-high wind and solar output, which together provided 34% of electricity, and a recovery in hydropower. Consequently, the EU power sector's emissions in April reached a record low of 38 million tonnes of CO2, contributing to an 18% year-on-year decrease in emissions for the first four months of 2024 despite a slight recovery in electricity demand.

• In April 2024, fossil fuel electricity generation in the EU reached a record monthly low of 23%, down from 27% in May 2023. Total fossil generation was 46 TWh, representing a 24% decrease (14.8 TWh) compared to April 2023.
• Both coal and gas generation hit significant lows in April 2024. Coal provided 8.6% of the electricity mix, a 30% drop (7.3 TWh) from 12.3% in April 2023. Gas provided 12.1% of the mix, a 22% drop (6.8 TWh) from 15.6% in April 2023, marking its lowest share in at least eight years.
• Renewable energy reached a record 54% share of EU electricity in April 2024. Wind and solar generated a record 34% (68 TWh), while hydropower output rose 28% (+6.9 TWh) compared to April 2023, increasing its share to 15.7%.
• EU power sector emissions in April 2024 reached a record low of 38 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2), a 10% decrease from the previous record of 42 MtCO2 in May 2023. For the period of January-April 2024, emissions fell 18% year-on-year, even as electricity demand increased by 0.4% over the same period in 2023.
• The decline in fossil generation was observed across the EU, with Germany recording the largest decrease at 4.8 TWh (-26%), which accounted for 32% of the total EU fall. Italy followed with a 2.2 TWh (-24%) decrease, contributing 15% to the total EU decline.

APA

Rangelova, K., Murdoch, J., & Fulghum, N. (2024). EU fossil generation below 25% for the first month ever. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/02/In-Brief_-EU-fossil-low-record-April-2024-1.pdf

Chicago

Rangelova, Kostantsa, Josie Murdoch, and Nicolas Fulghum. EU fossil generation below 25% for the first month ever. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/02/In-Brief_-EU-fossil-low-record-April-2024-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rangelova |first1=Kostantsa |last2=Murdoch |first2=Josie |last3=Fulghum |first3=Nicolas |title=EU fossil generation below 25% for the first month ever |publisher=Ember |date=10 May 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/02/In-Brief_-EU-fossil-low-record-April-2024-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rangelova2024fossil, author = {Rangelova, Kostantsa and Murdoch, Josie and Fulghum, Nicolas}, title = {{EU fossil generation below 25\% for the first month ever}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/02/In-Brief_-EU-fossil-low-record-April-2024-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }