European power generation market: coal gains further ground

Coal gained ground for another consecutive quarter, mainly due to the rally of gas prices which has been reversing the previous coal-to-gas switch registered in 2020, despite relatively high carbon and coal prices. Coal’s (hard coal and lignite) share in the mix rose to 17%, whereas l ess CO2-intensive gas generation still managed to grow at 21% in the reference quarter. In absolute terms, coal-based generation rose by 8 TWhyear-on-year (+8%), while gas-fired power plants’ output rose by 15 TWh ( +14%).