The European Union made more electricity from solar than coal last year, according to data from climate thinktank Ember. Solar panels generated 11% of the region’s electricity, compared to 10% by coal-burning plants.
This is certainly a huge milestone for the clean energy transition in the region. Solar is the rising star there. The report attributed the rise of solar to a record number of solar panels, despite the EU getting less sunshine than the year before.
Coal supported industrialisation in Europe. But it has also pumped out more planet-heating greenhouse gases than any other energy source. In the European Union, coal burning peaked in 2003 and has fallen by 68% since then.
