Europe 2022, for the first time the electricity produced by wind and photovoltaic has exceeded that from gas

Europe tries to leave behind the energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and scores a record in 2022. For the first time, the production of electricity from wind and photovoltaics has exceeded that from natural gas.

As the massive study reveals posted by Emberthe two renewable sources produced together 22% of electricity in the European Union throughout 2022, with gas which instead remained stable, despite the Russian cuts, at around 20%.

The coalfor several weeks indicated as a source of production in great increase, it actually turned out to be a false alarm, with a growth of only 1.5% over the 12 months, thanks to a return to normality in the last four months of the year. In winter, many coal-fired plants were even put on standby, and of the 22 million tonnes of coal imported, Europe used only a third.

The containment of the crisis was also possible thanks to the virtuous behavior of citizens. In the last quarter the demand for electricity is dropped by 7.9% compared to the previous year, thanks to a cut in consumption and better behaviour.

Again according to the study, 2023 opens with very interesting prospects. Wind and solar are expected to continue with the expansion, but with a further acceleration due to the entry into operation of various projects under construction, and in the meantime the energy produced by the hydroelectric-nuclear coupling should return to higher levels. These two factors could lead production from fossil fuels to decrease significantly again, surpassing the previous negative record, dating back to 2020.

Coal is expected to fall further, but gas, which could remain more expensive well into 2025, will fall more and faster. Dave Jones, head of data insights at Ember explained: “The clean energy transition in Europe emerges from this crisis stronger than ever. Not only are European countries still committed to phasing out coal, they are now looking to phase out gas as well. The energy crisis has undoubtedly accelerated Europe’s electricity transition. Europe is racing towards a clean and electrified economy, and this will be fully visible in 2023. Change is coming fast and everyone needs to be ready for it“.