The European Union generated a record 47% of its energy from renewable sources last year and another 24% from nuclear power, energy think tank Ember said in a report released Thursday. For the first time, solar (11%) provided more of the EU's energy than coal (10%), while wind power (17%) topped gas (16%) for the second year in a row.

A record 47% of the European Union’s electricity now comes from solar and other renewables, a report Thursday said, in yet another sign of the growing gap between the bloc's push for clean energy and the new U.S. administration's pursuit of more fossil fuels.