Solar booms as renewables provide nearly half of EU power
Wind and solar overtaking fossil fuels in 2025 can be largely attributed to a staggering rise in solar power. Solar grew by more than a fifth (+20.1%) for the fourth year running. It generated a record 13% of EU power in 2025, above both coal and hydro.
This trend was widespread: all EU countries saw growth in solar generation compared to the year before, amid a huge expansion in EU solar installations. Solar provided more than a fifth of electricity in Hungary, Cyprus, Greece, Spain and the Netherlands.
Renewables provided nearly half of EU power (48%) as unusual weather conditions caused hydro generation to fall by 12% and wind by 2%, but boosted solar generation. Wind remained the second largest EU electricity source at 17% of EU power, generating more than gas.
Signs of a structural shift are clear across the EU, as wind and solar generated more electricity than all fossil sources in 14 of the 27 EU countries in 2025. Over the past five years, wind and solar have experienced massive growth (from 20% in 2020 to 30% in 2025). Fossil fuels have fallen from 37% to 29% in the same period, while hydro and nuclear remained stable or slightly declined.
Gas increases amid a decline in hydro, pushing prices up
Gas generation rose by 8% in 2025, largely due to reduced hydro output. However, gas remains in long-term decline in the EU and in 2025 it was still 18% below its most recent 2019 peak.
The rise in gas pushed the EU power sector’s gas import bill up to €32 billion in 2025, 16% higher than the previous year. This is the first increase in gas import costs for power since the 2022 energy crisis, with Italy and Germany paying the most. Hours with the most gas use drove electricity price spikes, with average prices for those hours rising by 11% across the EU compared to 2024.
Coal continued its rapid decline, falling to a new historic low of 9.2% in 2025. Just ten years prior it provided nearly a quarter of EU power. In 19 EU countries, coal power is at zero or less than 5%. Coal fell even in the EU’s biggest coal countries, Germany and Poland, with it dropping to an all-time low in both countries.
