For the first time on record, wind and solar power have overtaken fossil fuels as the European Union's main source of electricity. In 2025, turbines and solar panels produced 30% of the EU's power, edging past coal, oil and gas combined at 29%, according to a new annual review. Researchers described the shift as a "major tipping point", not just for climate policy, but for Europe's political and economic security.
"This goes beyond the power sector," says Beatrice Petrovich of the Ember thinktank, which authored the report. As geopolitics grow more unstable, Europe has become increasingly wary of its dependence on imported fossil fuels. Recent tensions with the United States, Europe's biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas, and uncertainty over global energy markets have only sharpened that concern.
The milestone was driven largely by a surge in solar power, which reached a record 13% of EU electricity last year. In five countries, including the famously cloudy Netherlands, solar supplied more than a fifth of total power. Wind energy dipped slightly compared with 2024 but remained the second-largest source overall, providing 17% of electricity across the bloc.
Fossil fuels, by contrast, continued their long retreat. Coal use fell to a historic low, accounting for less than 10% of EU power, concentrated mainly in Germany and Poland. Gas generation rose modestly due to weak hydropower output, but it remained far below its 2019 peak. Analysts say the bigger challenge now is no longer generating clean power, but building the grids, batteries and flexibility needed to handle it.