EU Coal Power Falls to a Record Low: What It Means for the Circular Energy Transition

Coal’s role in European electricity generation continued its long-term decline in 2025. According to the latest Eurostat data, hard coal and brown coal together accounted for just 9.2% of the European Union’s gross electricity production - the lowest share ever recorded.

This milestone is more than an energy statistic. It signals a structural shift in Europe’s electricity system, with renewable energy, nuclear power and - despite its own transition challenges - natural gas increasingly replacing coal.

Coal below 10% for the second year

In 2025, hard coal generated 105,601 gigawatt-hours (GWh), representing 3.7% of total EU gross electricity production. Brown coal contributed a further 154,186 GWh, or 5.5%. Combined, the two coal categories produced 9.2% of the EU’s electricity.

Coal’s share had already fallen below 10% in 2024. Its further decline in 2025 marks a new historic low and reinforces the direction of travel across the European energy system.

The change is particularly striking when viewed over a longer period. In 1990, coal accounted for more than one-third of all electricity produced in the EU. At that time, hard coal alone represented 19.8% of electricity generation, while brown coal accounted for 15.3%. By 2000, coal’s combined share had fallen to 30.4%, and the decline continued with only modest reversals in 2011–2012 and 2021–2022.

A changing electricity mix

Coal is no longer among the leading sources of EU electricity. In 2025, hard coal ranked seventh and brown coal sixth among electricity-generation sources.

Several technologies have overtaken coal over the past three decades:

• Nuclear heat surpassed both coal categories in 1994.

• Natural gas moved ahead in 2019.

• Hydropower and wind overtook coal in 2023.

• Solar energy moved ahead in 2024.

  
  

This sequence illustrates how Europe’s energy transition has progressed in stages. The initial decline of coal was supported by nuclear power and natural gas. More recently, the rapid expansion of wind and solar has become a central driver of change.

From a circular-energy perspective, this evolution also changes the priorities for infrastructure, investment and resource management. The energy system is moving away from large, centralised fossil-fuel facilities and toward a more diverse combination of renewable generation, storage, flexible demand, grid infrastructure and efficient use of materials.

Coal phaseout gains momentum

The decline in coal-fired electricity is accompanied by historically low levels of coal production and consumption. In 2025, EU consumption was estimated at approximately 107 million tonnes of hard coal and 184 million tonnes of brown coal - the lowest levels recorded for both fuels.

Several Member States have already taken decisive steps to end coal use. Portugal stopped using hard coal for electricity generation in 2021. Slovakia phased out brown-coal production in 2024, leaving eight EU countries still producing brown coal.

These national developments demonstrate that the phaseout is not occurring uniformly across Europe. Some countries have already closed or converted coal facilities, while others continue to depend on domestic lignite or imported hard coal for electricity, heating or industrial applications.

The remaining challenge is therefore not only to reduce coal use at EU level, but also to ensure that the transition is fair, reliable and economically resilient in regions historically dependent on coal mining and combustion.

Beyond replacing coal

Replacing coal with lower-carbon electricity is essential, but the transition does not end when a coal plant closes. A genuinely circular energy system must address the full lifecycle of energy infrastructure.

Key questions include:

• How can decommissioned power plants and mining sites be safely restored and repurposed?

• How can metals, construction materials and components from obsolete facilities be recovered?

• How can coal regions create new economic opportunities and high-quality employment?

• How can renewable technologies be designed for repair, reuse and recycling?

• How can grids, storage systems and demand management reduce the need for fossil-fuel backup?

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Coal phaseout can therefore become a platform for regional regeneration. Former industrial sites may be suitable for solar installations, energy storage, clean manufacturing, district heating or other activities that use existing grid connections and technical skills.

At the same time, the rapid deployment of renewable technologies creates a new materials challenge. Solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and grid equipment require significant quantities of minerals and manufactured components. Extending product lifetimes, improving repairability and developing effective recycling systems will be essential if Europe is to avoid replacing one resource-intensive energy model with another.

The significance of the 2025 data

The record-low coal share confirms that the EU electricity mix is undergoing a long-term transformation. Coal’s contribution has declined from more than one-third of electricity generation in 1990 to less than one-tenth in 2025.

However, the statistic should be interpreted carefully. A lower coal share does not automatically mean that all electricity is renewable or that the energy transition is complete. Electricity demand, industrial energy use, heating, transport and the carbon intensity of other fuels must also be considered.

The next phase of Europe’s transition will depend on combining decarbonisation with circularity. That means reducing emissions while also making infrastructure more durable, materials more recoverable and regional economies more adaptable.

The decline of coal is an important milestone. Its lasting value will depend on whether Europe can transform the assets, knowledge and communities connected to the coal economy into foundations for a cleaner and more circular energy system.

Methodological note

Eurostat defines coal in this publication as primary coal products: hard coal and brown coal. The figures exclude secondary coal products such as coke-oven coke, as well as manufactured gases and other solid fossil fuels, including peat, oil shale and oil sands. The underlying source dataset is Eurostat’s energy-balance dataset.

References

1. Eurostat, “Record low coal share in EU electricity production,” 13 August 2026.

2. Eurostat, source dataset nrg_bal_peh, energy balances and electricity production data.

3. Eurostat, “Statistics Explained on coal production and consumption.”

4. Eurostat, “Energy statistics” thematic section and energy database.