Impact on the European electricity market of the global pandemic – explore the Wärtsilä Energy Transition Lab

Wärtsilä Energy Transition Lab COVID-19 CO₂ emissions scorecard
13 April 2021

The impact of the pandemic alongside the phase-out of coal in certain European markets accelerated the pace of the electricity system transition across the continent, with the share of renewables reaching levels not expected for another 10 years. Our scorecard highlights the leaders and laggards across the continent.

Ireland showing the way towards a high renewable energy future
6 August 2020

A reliable and secure system operation is a concern often associated to the grid with high share of variable renewables. However, the recent development demonstrates that the European power system is capable to cope with significantly higher percentages of renewables than expected. Ireland is an interesting country in Europe to examine, as it is an isolated system with limited interconnections and with one of the highest levels of variable renewable generation in the region – making it a challenging grid to operate.

A wind of change from Spain
30 July 2020


In late-April we witnessed a week in Spain when the electricity demand was significantly lower (-12%) compared to the same period in 2019. At the same time, renewable generation was extraordinarily high (+45%) due to favourable wind and solar conditions. This increased the daily share of renewable generation up to 65% over the whole week in question, and to around 70% for three consecutive days of 29 April – 1 May in the country.