European Electricity Review 2023

The European Electricity Review 2023 by Ember analyzes EU-27 electricity generation and demand for 2022, highlighting a year of crisis-driven volatility. While a shortfall in nuclear and hydro generation led to a temporary 7% increase in coal power, wind and solar reached a record 22% share of the EU electricity mix. The report predicts a significant decline in fossil fuel generation for 2023 as nuclear and hydro capacities recover and renewable deployment accelerates.

• In 2022, wind and solar generation reached a record 22% of the EU electricity mix, overtaking fossil gas (20%) and remaining above coal (16%) for the first time.
• EU coal generation rose by 7% (+28 TWh) in 2022 compared to 2021, primarily to fill a 185 TWh generation gap caused by a severe drought affecting hydro power and unexpected nuclear outages in France.
• EU power sector CO2 emissions increased by 3.9% (+26 MtCO2) in 2022, with Germany recording the largest absolute increase (+13 MtCO2).
• EU electricity demand fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2022, dropping by 7.9% compared to the same period in 2021, a decline attributed to affordability concerns, energy efficiency, and mild weather.
• Solar generation saw a record increase of 39 TWh (+24%) in 2022, driven by 41 GW of new installations. This growth helped the EU avoid approximately €49 billion in gas costs.
• The Netherlands emerged as a solar leader in 2022, producing 14% of its electricity from solar and overtaking coal generation for the first time.
• Nuclear generation in the EU experienced its largest ever year-on-year decline in 2022, falling by 16% (119 TWh), largely due to French outages and German plant closures.
• Ember estimates that EU fossil generation could plummet by 20% (211 TWh) in 2023, with gas generation expected to fall the fastest due to high costs relative to coal.
• Despite the 2022 uptick, EU coal power remains 37% below 2015 levels, and several countries, including Romania and Germany, have maintained or accelerated their coal phase-out targets.
• The report argues that Europe must achieve a fully decarbonised power system by the mid-2030s to align with the 1.5C goal of the Paris Agreement.

APA

Jones, D., Brown, S., Czyżak, P., Broadbent, H., Bruce-Lockhart, C., Dizon, R., Ewen, M., Fulghum, N., Copsey, L., Candlin, A., Rosslowe, C., & Fox, H. (2023). European Electricity Review 2023. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/01/Report-European-Electricity-Review-2023.pdf

Chicago

Jones, Dave, Sarah Brown, Paweł Czyżak, Hannah Broadbent, Chelsea Bruce-Lockhart, Reynaldo Dizon, Matt Ewen, et al. European Electricity Review 2023. Ember, 2023. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/01/Report-European-Electricity-Review-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jones |first1=Dave |last2=Brown |first2=Sarah |last3=Czyżak |first3=Paweł |last4=Broadbent |first4=Hannah |last5=Bruce-Lockhart |first5=Chelsea |last6=Dizon |first6=Reynaldo |last7=Ewen |first7=Matt |last8=Fulghum |first8=Nicolas |last9=Copsey |first9=Libby |display-authors=etal |title=European Electricity Review 2023 |publisher=Ember |date=31 January 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/01/Report-European-Electricity-Review-2023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jones2023european, author = {Jones, Dave and Brown, Sarah and Czyżak, Paweł and Broadbent, Hannah and Bruce-Lockhart, Chelsea and Dizon, Reynaldo and Ewen, Matt and Fulghum, Nicolas and Copsey, Libby and Candlin, Alison and Rosslowe, Chris and Fox, Harriet}, title = {{European Electricity Review 2023}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/01/Report-European-Electricity-Review-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }