From renewables to fossil fuels in Europe: How does your country generate electricity?

The European Union is no longer generating electricity in the manner it did two decades ago.

Nuclear-powered generation shrank to 23% of the EU's energy mix last year, down from 32% in 2000, while coal-fired generation declined to 12% from 30% over the same period.

While the electricity mix differs significantly between EU member states, renewable energy has steadily increased in nearly all of them over the past two decades.

Despite its gradual decline in share since 2000, nuclear power remains a vital contributor to electricity generation in the EU.

It is the largest contributor to electricity production in countries like France, Belgium, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

In 2023, renewables account for the largest share of electricity generation in the EU at 35%, followed by fossil fuels at 32% and nuclear energy at 23%.

The share of renewables in EU electricity generation has more than doubled since 2004, reflecting the bloc's commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

"Wind and solar are really exploded the last couple of years," said Cillian O’Donoghue, Policy Director at Eurelectric, the EU electricity industry body. "I think the current trend is only going to continue," he told Euronews.

Despite Europe's climate commitments, several countries, including Italy, Germany and the UK, continue to rely heavily on gas power for electricity generation.

Earlier this year, Germany announced plans to build new hydrogen-ready gas-fired power plants to help phase out coal by 2030, a decision that drew criticism from some organizations concerned about its environmental implications.

However, the plan was abandoned due to a lack of political support after the coalition government collapsed, leaving the proposal unvoted in parliament, a ministry spokesperson confirmed to German press agency DPA.

"Some countries are going for different strategy, particularly Germany, but it's a hydrogen strategy, not a gas strategy," O’Donoghue said.

Germany shut down its final three nuclear reactors in April 2023, marking the end of electricity generation from nuclear power in the country. Back in 2000, nuclear power plants accounted for 30% of the country's electricity generation.

Wholesale electricity prices across Europe remain higher than pre-Ukraine war levels, even as they have significantly declined from their 2022 peaks when the conflict disrupted global energy markets.

In November, prices hit their highest in recent months, reflecting ongoing market volatility.

According to Cillian O’Donoghue, some of the current problems we are seeing now are the result of the lack of grid, lack of flexibility and lack of storage in the system.

"But we do see good progress in terms of prices. I think going forward as we get more renewables in the system, we will see kind of further price reductions and also less volatility in the system," he concluded.