Almost half the electricity generated in the Netherlands last year came from renewable sources, national statistics agency CBS said on Thursday.

And during the sunny late spring and summer, more renewable energy was generated by solar power than by fossil fuels, the CBS said. In total, production was up 21% on 2022.

Wind turbines led the way, with 35% more wind energy produced – due to an expansion of capacity on land and at sea.

The decline in fossil fuel use continued, with the share of coal-fired generation dropping 38%, due to price effects, the CBS said. Total production last year rose 1% to 120 billion kWh. Of that, 58 billion kWh came from fossil fuels, 55 kWh from renewable and 4 kWh from nuclear and other sources.

Exports also reached a record level. In total 25 billion kWh of electricity was exported, a rise of 10% year on year. Most went to Germany, Belgium and Britain.