Europe’s Electricity Demand Roars Back, Driving Up Coal Generation
European coal generation has reached its highest level since March – down just 2TWh year-on-year – as EU electricity demand roars back.
About
Analysis of Ember’s dataset of monthly electricity generation in Europe.
Data is obtained via Entso-E’s transparency platform and curated by Ember, supplementing with data from other national sources if necessary.
Executive summary
Demand and coal up
European coal generation has reached its highest level since March – down just 2TWh year-on-year – as EU electricity demand roars back.
Although we would normally expect a year-on-year fall in fossil as new wind and solar are built, French nuclear problems mean that fossil generation is holding up.
This shows that reductions in power sector emissions due to COVID-19 were short-lived, and the need for new wind and solar investment is as urgent as ever.
Analysis
EU Electricity Trends to August 2020
In this chapter:
Conclusion
What next?
As demand recovers, clean energy infrastructure and investment need to be protected to ensure that the momentum of the EU’s coal phase-out isn’t lost.
The need for new wind and solar investment is as urgent as ever.
