L R AS Published on Sunday 6 February 2022 - n° 392 - Categories:Europe
Solar development in Europe
Solar is booming across Europe. 27% more electricity was produced in 2021 than in 2019. Solar generated 6% of the electricity in Europe,
according to the research firm Ember. Solar and wind generated 19% of the EU's electricity in 2021, up from 17% in 2019, and for the first time more electricity than gas in 2021. During the rise in energy prices from the second half of 2021, EU solar and wind generation was the highest ever recorded for every month in the second half of 2021, with the exception of September. Together with hydropower and biomass, renewables in 2021 generated 37% of EU consumption, on a par with fossil fuels at 37%, which reached 39% in 2019. Nuclear power contributed 26% of electricity consumption.
Spain and the Netherlands are driving the growth. Spain almost doubled its solar power production from 15 TWh in 2019 to 26 TWh last year. The Netherlands saw nearly 10% of its electricity demand met by solar in 2021, as the country increased its production by 115% since 2019. Taken together, Spain and the Netherlands account for half of Europe's solar growth since 2019. As solar energy appears cheap now, more and more countries are expected to increase their solar ambitions. The demand on our continent is laying the foundation for rapid expansion.
The recent surge in gas prices has meant that renewables have replaced fossil gas instead of coal, which has only declined by 3% between 2019 and 2021, compared to a 29% decline in the previous two years.
Due to the inability to deploy enough clean energy, and the soaring price of gas, the phase-out of coal has been delayed. Emissions from EU electricity generation have fallen only slightly (not even half the rate required to achieve 1.5°C).
If the gas crisis continues for the next two years, Europe's climate targets could be at risk unless countries step up the deployment of renewables.
The full study https://ember-climate.org/project/european-electricity-review-2022/
https://www.pv-tech.org/solar-begins-to-soar-in-europe-as-generation-jumps-27-in-two-years-ember/
PV Tech of 2 February 2022
Note: This information is a reminder that energy or economic change is slow, with advances and regressions. Solar energy continues to grow but its contribution to consumption was only 6% in 2021. This is still very little
