For the first time in history, solar power and wind power have combined for
more electricity generation than fossil fuels in the EU. Last month, the two
core renewables of the new clean energy era achieved that historic crossover
point.

solar power provided a record 14% of the EU’s electricity, from a record 27
TWh. That May total even beats the solar record set in the middle of summer,
July, last year.

This is also the first time that solar electricity beat coal electricity — 14%
versus 10%.

Wind power provided 17% (32 TWh) of the EU’s electricity in May. Clearly, that
beats both of those other sources, but it’s not wind power’s record. Wind
power’s best month ever was 23% (54 TWh).

“The strong performance of wind and solar meant that EU coal generation fell
to an all-time monthly low in May, with just 10% (20 TWh) of EU electricity
coming from the most polluting source,” Ember writes. “The record-low coal
generation in May was just below the previous record set during the pandemic
lockdowns, when coal power generated slightly above 10% of EU electricity in
April 2020. Fossil gas recorded the lowest share of generation since 2018 at
just 15% of EU electricity during May.

Crossover — Solar & Wind Power Producing More Electricity Than Fossil Fuels In EU. The European Union (EU)
Clean Technica - June 11, 2023
-- https://cleantechnica.com/2023/06/11/crossover-solar-wind-power-producing-more-electricity-than-fossil-fuels-in-eu/#:~:text=For%20the%20first%20time%20in,provides%20us%20with%20the%20news.

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 6:49:27 PM UTC-4, bruce bowser wrote:
> For the first time in history, solar power and wind power have combined for
> more electricity generation than fossil fuels in the EU.
> Crossover — Solar & Wind Power Producing More Electricity Than Fossil Fuels In EU. The European Union (EU)
> Clean Technica - June 11, 2023
> -- https://cleantechnica.com/2023/06/11/crossover-solar-wind-power-producing-more-electricity-than-fossil-fuels-in-eu/

A barrel of oil contains 5.8 million British Thermal Units of energy in a typical 42-gallon barrel. A human in peak physical condition is capable of putting out 750 BTU per hour of work (we will ignore that a human can't maintain this pace). That translates to a barrel of oil doing 7,733 hours of optimal human labor.

https://www.hefner.energy/articles/how-much-is-a-barrel-of-oil-worth#:~:text=A%20barrel%20of%20oil%20contains,hours%20of%20optimal%20human%20labor.