Think tank: Solar energy tops the EU electricity mix for the first time in June
Favorable weather conditions and the expanded capacity enabled a change at the top of the EU's electricity mix in June. Coal-fired power disappears.
(Image: bombermoon/Shutterstock.com)
In the European Union, more electricity was generated from sunlight than from any other energy source for the first time in June, and records for solar energy production were set in 13 countries. This was determined by the think tank Ember and the corresponding figures were published. Solar power has also helped to meet the high demand in the face of heatwaves. According to the analysis, 22 percent of the electricity generated in the EU last month came from solar energy, with nuclear energy accounting for 21.8 percent. This was followed by wind energy (15.8 percent), electricity from gas (14.4 percent) and hydropower (12.8 percent). Coal was only responsible for 6.1 percent of the electricity generated.
Significant increase within a year
According to the think tank, more electricity was generated from sunlight in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Greece, Croatia, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia and the Czech Republic in June than in any previous month. Only in Denmark and Slovakia were the records not set in the previous year. Ember attributes the extensive record wave to the ongoing expansion of solar energy systems and the extremely favorable weather in June. A year ago, solar power was still well behind nuclear power, but in the summer months the gap was around five percentage points according to the figures calculated by Ember.
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While wind power fell once again in the summer months due to the weather, there were also records here, according to Ember. For example, wind power plants contributed 16.6 and 15.8 percent to the EU electricity mix in May and June, more than ever before in these months. This is an "impressive" turnaround after the unfavorable spring months, in which the previous year's figures could not be achieved due to the lack of wind. In May and June, however, the ongoing expansion in conjunction with more favorable weather again bore fruit. The development is therefore taking place against the backdrop of rising consumption overall: in the first half of the year, the EU consumed 2.2 percent more electricity than in the previous year.
(mho)
