Solar generation overtook coal for the first time as the EU gave up 15.7% (50 TWh) of yearly coal-powered generation, its share shrinking from 11.8% to 9.8%. This was due, among other things, to Slovakia closing its last coal-fired plant last year: the country thus followed the path taken by Belgium, Sweden Austria and Portugal, all of them having discontinued coal generation between 2016 and 2021.
EU’s gas powered generation shrank 5.6% (by 26 TWh) at year end 2024, the segment share down from 16.9% to 15.7%. Here the decisive factor was the gas saving agenda pursued throughout the European Union since 2022. According to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), total gas imports to EU sank 5% in 2024 (down to 289.5 bn m3). The gas saving policy has lead, among other things, to industrial output decline, indirectly evidenced by the fact that in 2024, the EU electricity demand was 5% below the 2021 figure (down to 2,725 TWh).
Nuclear power output in the European Union gained 4.7% (29 TWh) in 2024. This was partially due to French nuclear plants put back in operation after a period of maintenance, but also due to the commissioning of the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3, EU’s largest nuclear reactor (1.6 GW), which started regular electricity production in April 2023 and continued operation throughout 2024, save for short-term repair outages. This year nuclear generation is deemed to grow further as France’s Flamanville Unit 3 passed the construction phase and went online in December, 2024. It is expected to become fully operational in the near future.
EU-wide wind power output increased 1.5% (by 7 TWh) at year end 2024. Similarly to solar power, the growth was driven by new capacity installed (10.8 GW of new windfarms). Meanwhile, hydro power plants produced 9.8% (32 TWh) more of electricity, in particular owing to more favorable weather conditions compared to the summer of 2023, which saw one of Europe’s worst droughts in centuries.
Overall, last year’s figures appear to signal the growing importance of renewables: the RES segment in total provided an additional 7.6% (92 TWh) of electricity, its cumulative share going up from 44.8% to 47.4%. The share of combined heat and power stations (including coal-, oil-, and gas-burning ones) in total electricity generation declined from 32.2% to 28.9%, while the share of nuclear power was up from 23% to 23.7%.
