RES are already ahead of fossil fuels — Eurostat

Renewable energy is largely spared from pandemic effects. Current Eurostat data proves it.

According to preliminary data for 2020, the production of electricity from renewable energy sources for the first time exceeded the production of energy from fossil fuels.

The general trend of lower energy demand due to COVID-19 has not affected the development of RES. According to the graph, renewables stand out as an exception, continuing their growth especially in electricity generation

Fossil fuels

In 2020, electricity generation from fossil fuels continued to decrease, recording its lowest point: from 1 226 156 Gigawatt-hour (GWh) in 1990 to a peak of 1 584 005 GWh in 2007, to 1 133 402 GWh in 2019 and 1 022 589 GWh in 2020 (9.8% decrease compared with 2019).

Nuclear fuel

A similar trend was observed for electricity generation from nuclear, where 2020 provisional data shows the lowest point since 1990, at 683 183 GWh (6.3% lower than in 1990).

Renewables

In the last decade there was a remarkable growth of electricity generation from renewable sources. According to the preliminary data for 2020, electricity generation from renewables overtook for the first time that from fossil fuels. The share in electricity generation from renewables increased over time, from 303 279 GWh in 1990 to 979 866 GWh in 2019. The 2020 provisional data shows a further increase to 1 052 582 GWh, which was 29 994 GWh more than the generation from fossil fuels.

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Source: Renewable energy largely spared from pandemic effects: https://bit.ly/2VglFtY.