Renewables gained ground across Europe, though gas still shaped electricity prices

For the first time ever, wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU in 2025, shows data from energy think-tank Ember.

Its latest report, published on Thursday, analyses electricity generation and demand trends across the EU in 2025. It shows that wind and solar together produced 30.1 per cent of the bloc’s total electricity last year, overtaking fossil fuels — including coal and gas — which accounted for 29 per cent.

By the end of 2025, 14 of the bloc’s 27 countries generated more electricity from wind and solar than from fossil fuels.

The growth last year was largely driven by solar power, which expanded by more than 20 per cent in 2025.

Ember senior energy analyst for Europe Beatrice Petrovich tells Sustainable Views that this was due both to an increase in installed solar capacity and to favourable weather conditions for solar generation. Data from the report shows solar power generation increased in all 27 EU countries last year.

Over the past five years, the share of electricity generated from wind and solar has increased by more than 10 percentage points, while the share of fossil fuels in the EU’s power mix fell by almost 8 percentage points.

When all renewable energy sources — including hydro and bioenergy — are taken together, renewables have generated more electricity than fossil fuels since 2022, Ember data shows. With nuclear power production remaining largely steady over the period, rising wind and solar generation has made up for the decline in fossil fuel output.

“The progress in wind and solar are the main drivers behind the growth in renewables,” says Petrovich.

Gas use rises despite gains in renewables

Despite the surge in renewables, gas continues to play a significant role in the EU’s electricity system.

In 2025, electricity generation from gas increased by 8 per cent compared with the previous year, marking the first annual rise since the 2022 energy crisis. Gas output increased in 15 of the EU’s 27 countries.

Petrovich says the increased use of gas was “largely due to reduced hydro output”.

Electricity generation from hydro across the EU fell by 12 per cent in 2025, hit by unusually dry weather conditions, finds the report. Petrovich notes the weather patterns that boosted solar generation also reduced hydro output.

“Gas remains an important part of the EU’s electricity mix, but its role has evolved,” she says. “Once a core source of power, it is now used mainly as a flexible balancing fuel to make up for swings in renewable generation.”

The increase in gas use pushed the EU power sector’s gas import bill to €32bn in 2025, 16 per cent higher than the previous year.

Impact on electricity prices

Higher gas generation, combined with a 5.6 per cent rise in gas prices in 2025 compared with 2024, meant the EU spent €32bn importing fossil gas for power generation — the first annual increase in the gas import bill since the 2022 energy crisis.

Wholesale electricity prices rose in 21 EU countries in 2025 compared with the previous year, with annual increases ranging from 22 per cent in Austria to 3 per cent in Greece.

The main driver was sharp price spikes during morning and evening hours, when gas-fired generation — typically the most expensive source of power — was needed to meet demand, says the report.

By contrast, the cost of generating renewable electricity has fallen sharply. An analysis published by the European Commission on January 16 found that the cost of electricity from solar, onshore wind and offshore wind has fallen by between 50 per cent and 70 per cent over the past decade.