In 2022, solar energy overtook coal for the first time in electricity generation in the EU. New data was published by Eurostat.
In the EU, solar energy accounted for 210,249 GWh of total electricity production, compared to 205,693 GWh of coal.
Poland and the Czech Republic are the only two coal producers in the EU. Only Poland utilizes coal as its primary source for electricity generation.
Nine EU countries use lignite to generate electricity.
In 2022, Russia remained the largest supplier of hard coal to the EU with a share of 24%, ahead of the United States (18%) and Australia (17%).
However, after the EU’s ban on coal imports from Russia due to the war of aggression against Ukraine came into effect in August 2022, imports from Russia fell to 27 million tons in 2022. This is a 45% decrease compared to 2021.
In 2023, France regained its position as Europe’s leading electricity exporter.
