EU power plant emissions see record decline in 2019: Agora

London — Greenhouse gas emissions from EU power plants declined more sharply in 2019 than in any year since at least 1990, German think-tank Agora Energiewende said Wednesday.

Emissions fell by 120 million mt, a decrease of 12% on 2018, it said in a joint report with Sandbag on EU power generation.

The key reason was a collapse in coal generation, down 24% or 149.5 TWh on the year across the EU, while the share of renewable electricity increased to 34.6%, it said.

"For the first time, wind and solar power plants thus delivered more electricity than coal-fired power plants [across the EU]," the report's authors said.

Falling generation margins for coal due to rising EUA carbon allowance prices saw around half of the electricity that would have otherwise been produced from coal came from gas-fired power plants and renewables, it said.

Gas-fired plants were the only conventional source that increased output, up 12% or 73.5 TWh on the year.

Europe's wind turbines delivered 14% or 54 TWh more electricity, it added.

Power demand, meanwhile, shrunk by 56 TWh or 1.7% on the year with 2019 back to 2015 demand levels.

The trends continued unabated in January with European wind just narrowly below December's record, sharp demand decline and a 41% on-year drop for coal in Europe's five biggest power markets, according to Platts Thermal and Renewable Trackers.

More needed for 2030 targets

Europe added 33 GW new wind and solar capacity in 2019, split fairly equally, the report said.

"Despite the positive trends [for renewables] the pace of expansion must accelerate even further," Agora's head of European energy policy Matthias Buck said, adding that the 2030 target of one-third RES in final energy demand would require annual RES gains of 97 TWh.

According to Buck, the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) still sets the total number of yearly permits for greenhouse gas emissions in ETS-relevant sectors at around 300 million permits above current consumption.

"The EU must reduce the number of issued permits faster than previously planned if it wants the emissions trading system to be effective and to encourage investment in renewables," Buck added.

The report estimates that industrial emissions covered under the ETS only fell by 1% last year forecasting total EU ETS emissions at 1,554 million mt in 2019.

The report presented Wednesday in Brussels also noted lower electricity market prices in countries with the most ambitious renewables targets.

"Europe is leading the world in rapidly replacing coal generation with wind and solar," Sandbag analyst Dave Jones said.

EU policy focus is set to shift toward the wider economy as Europe's energy transition takes off with the European Green Deal set to put climate policy at the core of all EU policy in a drive to raise Europe's 2030 emissions reduction target to 50-55% below 1990 levels and further toward carbon neutrality by 2050.

EU28 Power Generation 2019

Source: Agora Energiewende, Sandbag