Weathering the winter

The EU power system successfully navigated the 2022-2023 winter without a return to coal, as record renewable generation and significant electricity demand reductions—driven by emergency legislation, high prices, and mild weather—led to renewables providing a higher share of electricity than fossil fuels for the first time in a winter period.

• For the first time during a winter period, renewable energy sources generated a larger share of EU electricity than fossil fuels, accounting for 40% of generation between October and March, while fossil fuels provided 37%.
• Contrary to concerns of a 'coal comeback', coal and gas generation both decreased year-on-year for the winter period (October 2022 to March 2023), falling by 27 TWh (11%) and 38 TWh (13%) respectively.
• Total EU electricity demand was 6.2% lower than the five-year average from November to March, resulting in electricity cost savings of €12 billion. France and Germany recorded the highest absolute savings at €3.4bn and €2.5bn respectively.
• Seventeen EU Member States met or exceeded the mandatory 5% target to reduce electricity consumption during peak hours, which helped lower system adequacy risks and limit price spikes.
• Coal generation decreased in 15 of the 18 EU countries that use coal for power; the only exceptions were Italy, Finland, and Hungary, which all saw large drops in gas generation.
• EU power sector emissions for the winter were the lowest ever recorded at 321 mtCO2eq, representing a decrease of 42 mtCO2eq compared to the previous winter.

APA

Rosslowe, D. C., Fox, H., & Brown, S. (2023). Weathering the winter. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Weathering-the-winter.pdf

Chicago

Rosslowe, Dr Chris, Harriet Fox, and Sarah Brown. Weathering the winter. Ember, 2023. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Weathering-the-winter.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rosslowe |first1=Dr Chris |last2=Fox |first2=Harriet |last3=Brown |first3=Sarah |title=Weathering the winter |publisher=Ember |date=27 April 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Weathering-the-winter.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rosslowe2023weathering, author = {Rosslowe, Dr Chris and Fox, Harriet and Brown, Sarah}, title = {{Weathering the winter}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Weathering-the-winter.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }