In 2022, hard coal for the first time was overtaken by solar energy in electricity generation in the EU. The proportion of solar energy in the EU’s total electricity production was 210 249 GWh compared with 205 693 GWh for hard coal. Poland and Czechia are the only two remaining producers of hard coal in the EU, with only Poland using it as a major source for electricity generation. Brown coal, a category of coal with lower energy content, is used in electricity generation by 9 EU countries and was the source of 241 572 GWh of electricity. (....)