Renewables generate half of the EU’s electricity in the first six months of 2024

Renewables broke electricity generation records in the EU this year, according to the European Commission.

Newly published data revealed that in the first six months of 2024, half of the bloc’s electricity came from renewable sources, outperforming fossil fuels.

The European Commission’s ‘State of the Energy Union’ is an annual stocktake of the bloc’s progress towards energy and climate targets.

It says wind power has now overtaken gas as the EU’s second biggest source of electricity behind nuclear power for the first time. The EU also set another record with 56 GW of new solar energy installed in 2023, beating the previous record of 40 GW from 2022.

“After two record years for renewable installations, in the first half of 2024, wind and solar rose to new highs, surpassing for the first time fossil fuels in our electricity mix,” said Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told reporters when the news was announced Wednesday.

Demand for electricity has also declined but energy efficiency efforts need to be stepped up to meet the 11.7 percent reduction in 2030 target for energy consumption.

“Today’s report is really a testament to the massive transformation of EU energy policy that we have made over the past five years,” said Simson.

“The EU is now well equipped to meet the goal of climate neutrality while ensuring that industry remains competitive.”

How does the EU improve energy security and stabilize prices?

Energy security and price stability are also a key focus in this year’s report.

The share of Russian gas in EU imports fell from 45 percent in 2021 to 18 percent in June of this year. This is partly due to increased imports from countries such as Norway and the US but the reduction in demand for gas also played a role.

Between August 2022 and May 2024, demand fell by 18 percent or 138 billion cubic meters beyond the voluntary target of 15 percent.

The State of the Energy Union also found that prices are more stable and remain below what they were during the peak of the energy crisis in 2022.

Simson said it showed the EU was “no longer at the mercy of Putin’s pipelines”.

“The report highlights the progress we have made under this mandate towards a secure, competitive and affordable energy sector in the EU.”

There are still “new and emerging challenges” to be addressed, the Commission said. These include the current ambition gap in renewables and energy efficiency targets, the increase in energy poverty, the difference in energy prices compared to other global competitors, and the risk of new strategic critical dependencies.

It added that solving these issues will require a decisive policy response and a step up in efforts at both EU and member state level.

The European Commission is pushing for updated climate plans

Progress is promising but a key element is still missing for many countries: their final updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). The report reminds EU member states that they must submit long-term climate plans as soon as possible to ensure that the 2030 climate targets are within reach.

Simson said that so far they have only received 10 final plans and many are “way past the deadline” for submission which was June 30. Among the bloc’s top five largest emitters, France, Italy and Germany have submitted theirs while Spain and Poland are lagging behind.

An analysis of draft NECPs published in December found that, while EU countries are taking steps in the right direction, their plans are not yet sufficient to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a target of at least 55 percent by 2030.

The State of the Energy Union says they need to consider the Commission’s recommendations in their final plans.