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Annual power supply from renewables to exceed output from coal in Europe for first time

Oil&Gas Materials 8 November 2019 11:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.8

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

Annual power supply from solar and wind will exceed output from coal in Europe for the first time in 2019, Trend reports citing Wood Mackenzie research and consulting company.

This is while in 2018, one third of European power was supplied from renewable sources. Wind energy was the largest single low-carbon producer, accounting for around 12 percent of overall supply in the region. Solar power accounted for 4 percent of supply, according to the company.

Continued growth in wind and solar power will drive substantial decarbonisation of Europe’s electricity sector, Wood Mackenzie believes.

The future for Europe’s coal generators is bleak, with higher emissions cost, competitive gas and phase-out policies impacting the fuel, the company said in its analysis.

Peter Osbaldstone, Wood Mackenzie Research Director, said that renewables are on track to account for most of Europe’s power supply within ten years and over 60 percent of the market by 2040.

European power markets look different today than they did a few years ago and coal’s rapid decline – hastened by low gas prices – is perhaps the most significant recent change.

Nuclear remains the region’s single largest source of power but will also decline as older reactors retire and very little new build is seen.

“Gas’ contribution will rise as coal and nuclear fall, surpassing production from nuclear in the early-to-mid-2020s. By this time, the combined supply from wind and solar will rival gas – with wind alone producing more electricity than gas by late in the decade,” reads the analysis.

According to Wood Mackenzie, the cost of flexible gas generators will remain relevant to power price formation, although European power prices will become increasingly volatile as the volume of variable supply mounts.

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Follow the author on Twitter:@Lyaman_Zeyn

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