EU solar overtakes coal, but with energy sharing we can do so much more

Last month, the global energy thinktank Ember released its annual European Electricity Review, looking back at the state of the energy transition for 2024, and made a startling discovery: For the first time, the EU generated more power from solar (11% of total) than it did from coal (10%). 

“This is a milestone,” co-author of the report Beatrice Petrovich told the Guardian newspaper. “Coal is the oldest way of producing electricity, but also the dirtiest. Solar is the rising star.” 

We think there is a great opportunity to build on this momentum and help accelerate the energy transition in the UK. For the first time in history, we now have the technology to make solar power viable even in the relatively temperate and overcast countries of Europe, and that includes the UK. 

Ember’s report claims that the EU is now on track to meet it’s target of 400GW of installed solar capacity by 2025, and if the current pace persists then the 2030 target of 750GW is in reach. The UK has a solar target of 70GW by 2035, but with a simple change of policy it may be possible to go much further, much sooner. According to the Council for the Preservation of Rural England: “All suitable roof space and car parks in the UK could generate a whopping 117GW,” but to unlock this potential we need to enable Energy Sharing Communities. 

Supercharging solar by boosting community generation 

Energy Sharing Communities allow public buildings and businesses such as schools, hospitals, churches, and supermarkets to help meet their energy needs by installing rooftop solar PV, and raise additional revenue by selling surplus green electricity at an affordable price to local homes. 

The concept is simple, and so is the execution: Because energy sharing happens locally, it doesn’t send any power through the high-voltage national grid, but the existing model for pricing electricity still applies network costs as if it did. By removing these costs, policymakers could make it financially viable for all kinds of roof-owning organisations and businesses to establish local energy sharing communities and massively ramp up the UK’s solar capacity. 

We have already carried out a successful energy sharing pilot in Spain and are working to set one up in the UK, because we want to prove that not only is solar a viable option across Europe, but by unlocking the potential of energy sharing we can far exceed the 11% achieved in the EU, and the 75GW aspired to by the UK. 

To find out more about energy sharing, take a look at: Energy sharing: how we hope to empower communities across the UK