EU Electricity Trends

• Clean power sources generated a record two-thirds of the EU’s electricity in 2023
• Fossil generation fell to its lowest share ever – just a third of total generation
• Wind and solar power rose to a record 27% of the EU’s electricity, with wind’s share overtaking gas

In 2023, the EU electricity mix reached a new milestone with more than two-thirds of electricity coming from clean sources for the first time. 

Wind and solar combined to produce 27% (721 TWh) of total EU electricity generation – more than nuclear at 23% (619 TWh) and hydro at 12% (317 TWh). Bioenergy and other renewables contributed a further 5.9% (159 TWh).

The share of fossil generation fell to its lowest ever – just a third (33%) of total generation, down six percentage points from 39% in 2022. Gas remained the largest source of fossil generation at 17% in 2023 (452 TWh), while coal generation only made up 12% (333 TWh). The rest came from other fossil generation, such as oil, at 3.5% (95 TWh).

The EU’s reliance on fossil fuels for electricity has declined substantially since 2000, when over half (52%) of EU electricity came from coal, gas and other fossil sources. This fell to just 33% in 2023. Much of this fall happened since 2009 as wind and solar began to increase. 

Wind and solar generation grew fivefold from 2009 to 2023, from just 139 TWh to 721 TWh. Their combined share in the EU’s power mix rose from 5% to more than a quarter (27%) in the same period. This rapid growth happened as some EU countries, like Germany, became early adopters of wind and solar power at a large scale in the early 2010s.

Generation from other clean sources has moderately declined over the last two decades. Nuclear generation fell by 22%, from 860 TWh in 2000 to 619 TWh in 2023. Hydro generation declined 21% (from 350 TWh in 2000 to 317 TWh in 2023). The share of the two sources fell from 33% to 23% for nuclear and 13% to 12% for hydro generation, following lows in 2022 amidst maintenance, heat waves and droughts.

Since 2015, coal generation has fallen 372 TWh across the EU. Germany had the biggest fall, 140 TWh (-38%) followed by Spain (-48 TWh), Italy (-29 TWh) and Poland (-28 TWh).

In the same period, EU wind generation grew by 211 TWh with large additions in Germany (+60 TWh), France (+27 TWh) and Spain (+15 TWh). Similarly, solar saw a 146 TWh increase, with the largest contributions from Spain (+31 TWh) and Germany (+24 TWh).

In Germany, Europe’s largest electricity generator, falls in nuclear (-83 TWh) and coal (-140 TWh) generation since 2015 were predominantly met by increases in wind (+60 TWh) and solar (+24 TWh) alongside net imports (+57 TWh) and gas generation (+17 TWh). In France, a fall in nuclear generation of 102 TWh since 2015 was met by an increase in wind and solar generation of 43 TWh as well as increases in net imports (+14 TWh) and gas generation (+10 TWh).

• EU electricity demand fell 3.4% in 2023
• The Nordic countries of Finland and Sweden have more than twice the demand per capita of other EU countries
• In 2023, 21% of EU final energy consumption came from electricity, with an increase expected to come as electrified technologies are adopted

In 2023, EU electricity demand was 2,697 TWh, a fall of 94 TWh (-3.4%) compared to 2,790 TWh in 2022. In 2023, the EU was responsible for 9% of global electricity demand.

The EU’s four largest economies made up more than half (58%) of EU electricity demand. Germany accounted for 19% (515 TWh), France 17% (464 TWh), Italy 12% (315 TWh) and Spain 9.5% (256 TWh).

Across Europe, per capita demand was 6.1 MWh in 2023. 

Finland (14.7 MWh) and Sweden (13.2 MWh) have the highest electricity demand per capita among the ten countries with the highest electricity demand. Their demand per capita is more than twice the EU average. This is caused by higher energy demand due to their colder climates and high economic development as well as higher electrification rates, with greater adoption of electric vehicles and heat pumps than in other EU countries.

Spain (5.4 MWh), Italy (5.3 MWh) and Poland (3.5 MWh) have lower than average electricity demand per capita.

As the power supply becomes cleaner, electrification will be the key lever in decarbonisation across industries. As of 2022 (the latest year with data available) only 21% of final energy consumption in the EU came from electricity. This number is set to increase substantially as electrified technologies are introduced.

Key sectors that are expected to see increased electrification include transport, residential energy use (i.e. heating) and industry. 

Only 2% of the EU’s transport sector is electrified, according to 2022 data from Eurostat. In residential energy use, a large-scale switch to heat pumps is also set to further increase electricity demand. A quarter (25%) of the residential sector’s final energy consumption is currently in the form of electricity.

After rising throughout the 2010s, EU demand peaked at 1,036 TWh in 2008. It has since remained largely stable with only small declines. In 2023, demand was 6% lower than the peak, at 974 TWh.

Germany showed one of the largest declines since 2008, falling 16% (-97 TWh). Its share of EU demand dropped by 1.5 percentage points, from 20.6% in 2008 to 19.1% in 2023. Over the same period, Poland’s electricity demand increased by 12% (+11 TWh) and made up 6.4% of EU electricity demand in 2023, up from 5.2% in 2008.

Over the last two decades, wind and solar additions displaced fossil generation and compensated for falls in other clean generation. This further accelerated the reduction of fossil generation in years where demand fell. In 2023, demand falls of 94 TWh, combined with wind and solar growth of 90 TWh and growth in other clean sources of 37 TWh, led to a fall in fossil generation of 209 TWh. 

In order for emissions to continue to fall, clean electricity growth needs to meet and exceed new electricity demand. 

In the EU, four out of the last five years saw demand fall, contributing to a reduced need for fossil generation. 

As electrification is set to drive an increase in electricity demand over the coming years, clean generation additions will become even more crucial to meet new demand while decarbonising existing power generation.

• EU power sector emissions fell 19% in 2023 – the largest decline on record
• 2023 had the largest annual reduction in EU carbon intensity since at least 2000
• EU power sector emissions have nearly halved since their peak in 2007

In 2023, EU countries emitted 653 million tonnes of CO2 from electricity generation. This was a stark 19% drop in emissions (-157 MtCO2) compared to 2022 (811 MtCO2). Combined, EU countries contributed 4.6% of global power sector emissions in 2023.

Power sector emissions in the EU are dominated by the bloc’s largest fossil generating countries. Germany (29%, 188 MtCO2), Poland (17%, 112 MtCO2) and Italy (13%, 87 MtCO2) made up 59% of emissions despite only representing 37% of EU electricity demand. France was the exception among the EU’s large economies, representing just 4.4% (29 MtCO2) of EU power sector emissions in 2023, despite being responsible for 17% of electricity demand. This is due to its low share of fossil generation in the mix.

However, 22 countries–each representing only 5% or less of total EU emissions–still combined to make up nearly a third (32%) of EU power sector emissions. This highlights the need for shared responsibility in emissions reductions in the power sector.

In 2023, emissions intensity across the entire EU was  242 gCO2/kWh, down 17% from 292 gCO2/kWh in 2022. This represents the largest year-on-year reduction in carbon intensity since at least 2000 in both absolute and percentage terms.

The three largest coal power countries had the highest carbon intensity for electricity generation in 2023: Poland (662 gCO2/kWh), Czechia (450 gCO2/kWh) and Germany (371 gCO2/kWh). All still have a high share of coal in their mix (Poland 61%, Czechia 40%, Germany 26%), significantly above the EU average (12%).

Czechia’s emissions per capita (3.3 tonnes of CO2) were more than twice the EU average of 1.5 tCO2 in 2023.  Likewise, Poland (2.9 tCO2) and Germany (2.2 tCO2) were significantly above average. Belgium (1 tCO2), Sweden (0.7 tCO2) and France (0.4 tCO2) had some of the lowest emissions per capita in 2023 due to their low share of fossil and high share of low carbon sources like nuclear, hydro, wind and solar.

Power sector emissions in the EU have nearly halved since their peak in 2007 – falling by 46% from 1,218 MtCO2 to 653 MtCO2 in 2023. This equates to an average annual decline of 3.8%. The fall has accelerated in recent years, with emissions declining at a rate of 5.2% annually in the period since 2015. 

The decline in emissions is driven by an increase in generation from wind and solar and the subsequent reduced dependence on fossil fuels. Electricity demand in the EU has also fallen 9.3% since its peak in 2008, contributing further.

The large reduction in EU emissions intensity reflects these trends. One kilowatt hour of electricity produced in 2003 resulted in 424 grams of CO2 emitted. In 2023 this was just 242 grams of CO2, a reduction of 43%.

Prior to 2023, the largest relative drop in power sector emissions in the EU came as a result of the demand reduction driven by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, as emissions fell 13% compared to 2019. 2023 beat this record with emissions falling 19% (-157 MtCO2). There was a moderate recovery in 2021 and 2022, although power sector emissions have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. 

While emissions decline in the EU had accelerated to an average of 5.2% annually since the Paris Agreement, 2023 represented a significant step change with emissions falling more than three times as fast.

While total EU emissions have been falling since 2007, some countries have achieved faster declines than others, driven largely by the adoption of wind and solar. Among the largest EU emitters, Spain’s emissions declined fastest. Its 2023 emissions of 47 MtCO2 were 55% lower than those in 2000 (104 MtCO2). As a result, Spain’s share of EU emissions fell from 9.5% to 7.2%. 

In contrast, Poland’s share of EU emissions has increased by 4.7 percentage points from 12.4% in 2000 to 17.1% in 2023, as the country’s emissions decline of just 18% failed to keep pace with EU-wide reductions of 41% over the same period. 

Germany remains the largest single contributor with an emissions fall of 42% since 2000, in line with the EU-wide trend.