A recent study revealed that Europe last year for the first time produced more electricity generated from renewable energy than electricity generated from fossil sources.
The study, conducted by the British research center "Ember" and the German research center, "Agora Energy Wind," and published by the German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" on Monday, showed that renewable energy derived from wind, sun, water or biomass produced 38 percent of electricity Europe last year, while it produced coal or gas only 37 percent. "This is a milestone in Europe´s shift to clean energy," the report said.
While the productivity of electricity from wind and solar power has increased dramatically, the productivity of electricity from coal-fired power plants in particular has declined. According to the study, electricity generation in coal plants has almost halved compared to 2015, and in the past year alone, it decreased by 20 percent.
The study attributed this in part to the pandemic. Given the expansion in renewable energy and the possibility of a continuing rise in the price of carbon dioxide, electricity production from coal will continue to decline even after the end of the pandemic, said Patrick Gration, director of the Agora Institute.
