Each month, Ember, an independent energy think tank publishes data containing monthly generation and emissions data for “85 geographies representing more than 90% of global power demand”.

According to the latest data available for March 2024, the fossil fuel share in the EU’s total power production reached just 27,3%. Together, wind and solar farms were the biggest contributors to electricity generation in the EU, with a total share of 28,31%, beating fossil fuels by a slight margin. The first full month when these renewables produced more power than fossils was in May 2023.

The decline is impressive considering that in the past 10 years, in March the share for fossils had ranged between 32% and 41%. As a result, emissions from the power sector dropped from 58,94 mtCO2 in the third month of 2023 to 48,05 mtCO2 this year, representing 18,4% decline.

Nuclear plants remained the main power source, accounting for almost a quarter (23,4%) of the total electricity produced in March in the EU. Wind accounted for 19,09% of all electricity produced in the Union, overpassing hydro (15,8%) and gas (14,7%)

In a previous report published this year, Ember underlined that “growth in wind and solar had almost eliminated coal generation in Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, and was starting to eat into gas’s share of electricity production in these markets”