In 2022, wind and solar generated 22% of European electricity.

That’s according to a new report by the global energy think tank Ember which suggests this is the first time these two renewable energy sources have overtaken fossil gas generation.

Researchers say that gas generated around 20% of the electricity in European countries.

However, the analysis stresses that a complete shift away from fossil fuels was put on hold last year as countries had to face drought incidents and low levels of hydro generation and widespread French nuclear outages.

This led to a 185TWh power generation gap, equal to nearly 7% of Europe’s total electricity demand in 2022, according to the report.

While five-sixths of this gap was filled by more wind and solar generation and the reduction in electricity demand, the remaining sixth was met by increased fossil generation.