Renewables overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity mix in 2020

[Quetzal]

Renewables overtook fossil fuels as the European Union’s main source of electricity for the first time in 2020 as new projects came online and coal-power shrank, a report showed on Monday.
...
“Renewables will keep rising because we keep installing more and more. The jury’s out as to whether fossil fuels will rebound but if they do rebound it’s not expected to be by a lot,” Dave Jones, Ember’s senior electricity analyst said.

Renewables overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity mix in 2020: Report

It is encouraging to see the emission reduction projects gaining momentum. As the technology gets refined and the prices continue to drop, renewable energy sources are in a good position to eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels entirely.

 

[Revoltingest]

Same thing in Revoltistan this year.
100% solar electricity.
Next, more solar heat.

 

[Sunstone]

It might be hard to overstate the potential importance of this. Undercutting the money to be made on fossil fuels appears to be the only non-violent way that can be imposed on a large enough scale to keep trillions of dollars of wealth in the ground.

Trillions of dollars that hopefully will someday be worth $12.78 in soon to be inflated dollars.

 

[Secret Chief]

Renewables overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity mix in 2020: Report

It is encouraging to see the emission reduction projects gaining momentum. As the technology gets refined and the prices continue to drop, renewable energy sources are in a good position to eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels entirely.

Marv.
Britain should join the EU.

 

[Martin]

Same thing in Revoltistan this year.
100% solar electricity.
Next, more solar heat.

You have the sun?! Sheer luxury.

 

[Revoltingest]

You have the sun?! Sheer luxury.

Every now & then this time of year.

 

[Martin]

Every now & then this time of year.

You were lucky. We could only dream of seeing the sun.

 

[Revoltingest]

You were lucky. We could only dream of seeing the sun.

Sounds depressing.

 

[Martin]

Sounds depressing.

We had plenty of rain, mind you. And lots of wind.

 

[Revoltingest]

We had plenty of rain, mind you. And lots of wind.

We've had a weird winter.
Haven't even used the plow truck yet.
Usually, that starts in November.

 

[exchemist]

Renewables overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity mix in 2020: Report

It is encouraging to see the emission reduction projects gaining momentum. As the technology gets refined and the prices continue to drop, renewable energy sources are in a good position to eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels entirely.

Something odd about the graph. It shows wind and solar contributing ~20%, whereas the Renewables total is 38%. I see nuclear is not itemised separately.

I suspect they must be classifying nuclear as renewable, which seems highly questionable. However it is still good news that 38% was generated from sources that don't contribute to atmospheric CO2.

 

[Martin]

We've had a weird winter.
Haven't even used the plow truck yet.
Usually, that starts in November.

Mr Plough, eh? But seriously, we have huge wind farms off the coast of East England. The nimbys here didn't want turbines inland, off-shore turbines are obviously much more expensive to install and maintain. In any case, the cost of domestic electricity here keeps going up. I'd like to blame Brexit, but not sure I can get away with that.

 

[Kenny]

Renewables overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity mix in 2020: Report

It is encouraging to see the emission reduction projects gaining momentum. As the technology gets refined and the prices continue to drop, renewable energy sources are in a good position to eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels entirely.

I think this is a great thing.

 

[sun rise]

Outside of those in love with energy generating buggy whips, the trend lines are clear. Especially important is the cost line. We're seeing "doing well by doing good" in action.

 

[Nakosis]

As planned by the Energy Companies, I don't about EU but in the US.

Energy companies delayed renewable energy until they could control production and distribution.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Renewables overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity mix in 2020: Report

It is encouraging to see the emission reduction projects gaining momentum. As the technology gets refined and the prices continue to drop, renewable energy sources are in a good position to eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels entirely.

Are you saying its actually cheaper than fossil fuels?

 

[Quetzal]

Are you saying its actually cheaper than fossil fuels?

I am not up to date on the latest numbers. I do know the cost of renewable options has been decreasing over time.

 

[exchemist]

Are you saying its actually cheaper than fossil fuels?

These comparisons are notoriously hard to do in a way that everyone agrees is fair, but in practice for power plant operators and investors, yes it is now cheaper in many places around the world. Some details in this article:Solar Is Cheapest Energy: Renewable Energy vs. Fossil Fuels Cost

One caveat is that the risk in these investments has gone down partly due to government policies. They don't explain this, but I would imagine it may means things such as guaranteeing a minimum price for the electricity they produce, so they aren't exposed to wild market fluctuations. But reading the article it is plain that renewables are able to compete very effectively now with traditional fossil fuel sources. Coal is really on its way out for sure. Gas may be economic for longer.

 

[metis]

You have the sun?! Sheer luxury.

Living in Michigan with all of our lake-effects precipitation, I can relate to your statement above.

 

[Heyo]

As planned by the Energy Companies, I don't about EU but in the US.

Energy companies delayed renewable energy until they could control production and distribution.

In Germany the energy companies got the panic when more and more private turbines were installed. They jumped on the train before their monopoly could be broken.