THE amount of electricity generated by renewables in Europe has for the first time overtaken that from coal sources. Wind, solar and biomass generation supplied 679 terawatt hours, according to a new analysis of last year鈥檚 official figures.
Just five years ago, coal provided twice as much electricity in the region as renewables, says climate policy campaign group Sandbag, which published the review of European energy on Tuesday.
Advertisement
There has also been an unexpected change in UK electricity consumption, which fell by a surprising 2 per cent between 2016 and 2017. In contrast, European Union electricity use over this period rose by 0.7 per cent.
Over the past seven years, the UK has upped its climate-friendly energy generation to cover a 22 per cent drop in its coal-generated power. But the distribution of renewables across the EU is uneven. The UK and Germany alone accounted for 56 per cent of renewables growth in the past three years.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淓U renewables outpace coal鈥�
