Bright Side of Lockdown: Sharp Drop in Carbon Emissions in the Power Sector

COVID-19 has brought with it a positive outcome in the power sector: the first three months of 2020 saw coal-based power generation drop by over a quarter across the EU and the UK, in comparison to last year.

According to new analysis by tech group Wärtsilä, renewable energy has reached a 43% share and electricity demand is down by a tenth as a result of the pandemic, leading to a major reduction in carbon emissions.

“What we can see today is how our energy systems cope with much more renewable power – knowledge that will be invaluable to accelerate the energy transition,” says Björn Ullbro, Vice President for Europe & Africa at Wärtsilä Energy Business.

The analysis comes from a new platform, the Wärtsilä Energy Transition Lab, that provides detailed data on electricity generation, demand and pricing for all EU countries and the UK. A first of its kind in the industry, Wärtsilä has made the tool freely available to the public to help the region plan on optimizing the design and operation of its energy systems, in a goal to accelerate the switch to 100% renewable energy.