Renewable energy production beat fossil fuels in Europe
Wind turbines pictured during evening light on November 23rd, 2020, in Oschersleben, Germany. | Photo by Florian Gaertner / Photothek via Getty Images
Renewable energy became the biggest source of electricity in the European Union in 2020, beating fossil fuels for the first time. Germany and Spain also hit that milestone individually last year — so did the UK, which officially left the EU in January 2020.
Renewables powered 38 percent of electricity in the EU last year, according to a report released today by energy think tanks Ember and Agora Energiewende. That gives renewable energy a narrow lead over fossil fuel-fired generation, which accounted for 37 percent of Europe’s electricity. The remaining quarter comes from nuclear energy.
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