Coal’s share of EU power generation falls to record-low 9.2% in 2025
Coal supplied a record-low 9.2% of the European Union’s gross electricity generation in 2025, according to Eurostat data cited by Mediapool. Hard coal accounted for 105,601 GWh and lignite for 154,186 GWh, while consumption of both fuels also reached historic lows.
Coal falls further below 10%
Coal’s share of gross electricity generation in the European Union declined to a record-low 9.2% in 2025, according to the latest Eurostat data cited by Mediapool. Hard coal generated 105,601 gigawatt-hours, equal to 3.7% of the total, while lignite produced 154,186 gigawatt-hours and accounted for 5.5%.
The combined share had fallen below 10% for the first time in 2024. The further decline in 2025 confirms that coal is occupying a steadily smaller position in the EU power mix, both in percentage terms and in the volume of fuel consumed.
The change is substantial when measured against the bloc’s historical power system. Coal supplied more than one-third of EU electricity generation in 1990. Its combined share had decreased to 30.4% by 2000 and continued to trend downward, interrupted only by limited temporary increases in 2011-2012 and 2021-2022.
Hard coal and lignite slip down the generation ranking
In 1990, hard coal and lignite were respectively the EU’s second- and third-largest electricity sources, representing 19.8% and 15.3% of gross generation. By 2025, lignite ranked sixth and hard coal seventh, behind nuclear power, natural gas and renewable sources.
The sequence of fuels overtaking coal illustrates the breadth of the shift. Both hard coal and lignite were surpassed by nuclear power in 1994, natural gas in 2019, hydroelectric and wind power in 2023, and solar power in 2024, according to the Eurostat figures reported by Mediapool.
For power producers and fuel suppliers, the rankings point to a shrinking operating space for coal-fired assets. The data do not provide plant-level profitability or capacity figures, but lower generation and fuel use imply reduced demand across the coal supply chain, from mining and handling to delivery to power stations.
Consumption reaches historic lows
The decline in coal-fired electricity generation coincided with record-low production and consumption. EU consumption in 2025 was estimated at 107 million tonnes of hard coal and 184 million tonnes of lignite, both new historical minima.
National phase-outs are reinforcing the EU-wide trend. Portugal stopped using hard coal for electricity generation in 2021. Slovakia ended lignite production in 2024, leaving eight EU countries producing the fuel.
The two coal types still generated a combined 259,787 gigawatt-hours in 2025, so the market has not disappeared. However, the long-term trajectory—from more than one-third of power generation in 1990 to 9.2% in 2025—reduces the addressable market for miners, traders and coal-dependent utilities. The remaining lignite market is particularly tied to domestic production because the fuel is generally used close to mines, while the contraction in hard-coal generation directly limits requirements for power-sector supply. For investors and electricity-market participants, the latest data show that temporary rebounds have not reversed the EU’s multi-decade decline in coal use.
