EU fossil generation below 25% for the first month ever

This briefing by Ember reports that in April 2024, fossil fuels generated less than a quarter of the European Union's electricity for the first time, reaching a record low of 23%. This decline was driven by record wind and solar output and a recovery in hydropower, leading to a 22% year-on-year drop in power sector emissions for that month.

• In April 2024, electricity generation from fossil fuels in the EU fell to a record monthly low of 23%, down from 27% in May 2023. Total fossil generation for the month was 46 TWh, representing a 24% decrease (14.8 TWh) compared to April 2023.
• Both coal and gas reached significant lows in April 2024. Coal provided 8.6% of the EU electricity mix, its lowest share ever, falling 7.3 TWh (30%) from April 2023. Gas provided 12.1% of the mix, its lowest share in at least eight years, falling 6.8 TWh (22%) from April 2023.
• Wind and solar generation reached a record high of 34% of EU electricity in April 2024, with a total monthly output of 68 TWh. Combined with hydropower, which rose 28% (+6.9 TWh) to a 15.7% share, total renewable generation reached a record 54% of EU electricity.
• EU power sector emissions in April 2024 reached a record monthly low of 38 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2), a 10% decrease from the previous record of 42 MtCO2 in May 2023. For the first four months of 2024, emissions were down 18% year-on-year.
• The decline in fossil generation was observed across the EU, with Germany seeing the largest drop at 4.8 TWh (26%), partly due to the closure of seven lignite-fired power plant units (3.1 GW capacity) in late March 2024. Italy followed with a 2.2 TWh (24%) decrease.

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} }