Europe: Solar and wind power overtake natural gas  

Production capabilities are increasing

The energy produced in the European Union in 2022 from solar and wind installations surpassed natural gas for the first time. According to Bloomberg , clean energy from these two sources covered 22% of electricity use in Europe. At the same time, energy production from fossil fuels is expected to plummet by 20% through 2023, with natural gas experiencing the largest decline.

This change comes mainly because of Europe’s intention to become energy independent from Russia. The rising cost of energy coming from Russia reduced energy demand in Europe by 8% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

There is an attempt to rapidly reduce the demand for natural gas – at the same time as reducing lignite. This means that a huge increase in the scale of clean energy is coming.

For 2023, power production from nuclear plants is expected to remain flat, as production growth from France is offset by the decommissioning of nuclear plants in Germany. However, production from hydroelectric plants is expected to increase to 40 TWh this year, after the severe drought of 2022.