Fossil Fuels Surpass Renewables as EU’s Top Power Source

Fossil fuels have surpassed renewables to become the European Union’s largest source of power generation as use of natural gas reached its highest point in a decade, the bloc’s statistics office said on Thursday.

While Eurostat says renewables topped the list in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, the economic recovery saw the region’s electricity supply increase by 4% in 2021, with coal, oil and gas. Data showed that natural gas use, mostly imported from abroad, increased by around 4% in 2021, despite skyrocketing prices in the second half of the year.

While prices continue to rise this year after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU has activated sanctions against Russia, which is set to increase supply through a new pipeline to Germany. Production from brown coal increased by 16%, while other bituminous coal increased by more than a quarter. However, this is below pre-pandemic levels and the 2nd lowest point since 1990, according to Eurostat.