Renewables Beat Fossil Fuels in EU for First Time Last Year

Renewables are for the first time the dominant power source in Europe’s electric grid.

In a year that saw pandemic restrictions sap energy demand across the continent, the drop in supply came mostly from more expensive power from fossil fuels. That helped green sources take the biggest share of the European Union’s generation, a portion that will keep growing as the bloc moves to achieve its climate goals.

The trajectory is likely to be steep. Europe needs to double the share of electricity produced from renewable sources by the end of the decade to have a chance of meeting a stricter target of reducing emissions at least 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels, according to a report last week.