Wind and solar generated more electricity in the European Union than all fossil fuels combined in 2025, the first time renewables have crossed this threshold in recorded history. New data from London-based analyst firm Ember shows clean energy produced 30 percent of EU power last year, edging past fossil fuels' 29 percent share. Germany extended the trend in the first quarter of 2026, sourcing 54.5 percent of its electricity from renewables, with wind output up nearly 29 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.
Wind Overtakes Gas Across the EU
The Ember European Electricity Review for 2025 documents a structural shift. Wind energy alone covered 17 percent of EU electricity in 2025, surpassing natural gas as a single source for the first time. Solar added another 13 percent, bringing the combined renewable total to 30 percent across the bloc. In 14 of the 27 EU member states, wind and solar together already generate more electricity than fossil fuel plants.
Solar growth has been especially consistent. EU solar output reached 369 terawatt-hours in 2025, up more than 20 percent from the previous year and the fourth consecutive year of growth at that scale. Solar now outproduces both coal and hydropower across the EU. In Hungary, Cyprus, Greece, Spain and the Netherlands, solar already accounts for more than one-fifth of national electricity generation.
Germany's Q1 2026 Surge
Germany's first-quarter figures illustrate how rapidly the shift is accelerating under favorable conditions. Wind produced 34.1 percent of Germany's electricity between January and March 2026, up 29 percent from a year before. Unusually strong winds in January and February drove the gains. Solar output rose around 5 percent over the same period, with March alone reaching 7.4 terawatt-hours. Germany aims to source 80 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030; the quarterly figure of 54.5 percent shows the system can already exceed the current annual average of 63 percent under the right conditions.
What the Numbers Mean
The transition is structural, not cyclical. In Germany, lignite fell to 16.1 percent of the power mix in Q1 2026, down 6 percent year on year. Natural gas gained slightly over the full quarter but collapsed 43 percent in March alone as wind pushed it out of the market. At EU level, the bloc's own legally binding 2030 target of 42.5 percent renewable electricity has already been surpassed: renewables reached 48 percent of EU electricity on an annual basis in 2025.
What Still Needs to Happen
High renewable shares bring new challenges. Grid curtailment increased in Germany in Q1 2026, situations where wind turbines and solar panels could generate power but are switched off because the grid cannot absorb it. This signals that grid expansion is falling behind the pace of new capacity. Storage capacity, needed to balance supply during low-wind and low-sun periods, also remains insufficient.
Yet the underlying economics are irreversible. Renewables are now cheaper to build than new fossil fuel plants, and that is the driver behind the growth figures. The question is no longer whether the energy transition will happen, but how quickly grid infrastructure and storage technology can keep pace.