According to Eurelectric, the association that represents the European electricity industry, last year, “the EU achieved the cleanest power generation mix ever,” with emissions from the sector dropping 13% compared to 2023.

Preliminary system data shows that renewables, including hydropower, solar and wind,  provided almost one half of the EU power generation mix. Nuclear contributed with 24% followed by fossil fuels at just 28%, which is “the lowest share ever.”   

“While nuclear remained the single leading technology in producing power, wind kept its lead over natural gas from the past year,” highlighted Eurelectric. Due to the massive increase in renewables in the past years, emissions are now 59% lower compared to levels reached in 1990.

However, despite these achievements, concerns remain regarding the power demand which continues to remain below pre-pandemic levels, despite increasing by around 2% compared to 2023. According to the association, the demand for electricity is affected mainly by the industrial slowdown. 

Data also shows that in Romania, hydropower continues to remain the main source of power with a 28% share, followed by nuclear with 21% and natural gas with 17%. The share of fossil fuels in our country reached 29% last year, higher than in 2023 with gas compensating for lower hydro generation.