Electricity production from solar reached record high in the European Union, including Belgium, between May and August, according to a study carried out by energy think tank Ember.
During this period, 99.4 terawatt hours of electricity were generated from solar energy across Europe, an increase of 28% compared to the same period last year. Solar energy now represents 12.2% of total electricity production within the EU, followed by wind (11.7%), hydro (11%), and even fossil fuel coal (16.5%).
This large increase in solar energy production can be partly attributed to the exceptionally hot summer, with bright and sunny skies over much of Europe, as well as a 15% increase in solar energy capacity since last year.
According to Ember, European solar energy has allowed the bloc to avoid purchasing up to 20 billion cubic metres of natural gas, with an estimated value of €29 billion.
18 countries have broken their solar energy production records in recent months, including Belgium where 12.8% of the nation’s energy now comes from solar, slightly above the EU average of 12.2%.
As previously reported by The Brussels Times, July was an absolute record for solar energy production in Belgium. Electricity system operator Elia recorded a total output of 935 gigawatt hours (GWh), with solar peaking at 15% of the country’s total energy mix.
“Everything leads us to believe that 202 will be a record year for the production of electricity by solar panels,” says Elia. There are hopes that mild weather to come and increased capacity, up 20% in Belgium, will lead to even greater results.
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Despite the record results, Ember still believes that there is room for improvement across Europe. According to the think tank, the pace of development in the renewable energy energy sector is still too slow to meet the target of limiting the global rise in temperature to 1.5℃, a core ambition of the Paris Climate Accords.
Ember states that achieving 70-80% of electricity generation in Europe from wind and solar by 2035 is an absolute priority for hitting net-zeros targets.
