Eurostat: In the EU, 37% of energy already comes from renewable sources

In 2020, 37% of the electricity used in the European Union came from renewable sources. This is nearly two-fifths of their total electricity consumption. Even though Nordic countries have made more progress in this area, this achievement by Europe is still impressive.

Eurostat data shows that EU countries are using more renewable energy every year. In 2020, renewable energy sources made up 37% of the electricity used, up from 34% in 2019. The data refers to “gross electricity consumption,” which means the total energy demand in a region or country.

In which countries is the use of renewable energy the greatest?

Among all EU member states, Austria leads with 78.2% of its electricity coming from renewable sources. Sweden is second with about 75%. Denmark follows in third place with around 65%, and Portugal is fourth with 58%. More than half of the electricity used in Croatia and Lithuania in 2020 also came from renewable sources, at about 53% for both countries.

Poland’s place in the EU countries ranking

Next in the ranking are Germany, Romania, Spain, Finland, Ireland, and Italy, all of which have results above the EU average. On the other hand, countries with less than 37% of their electricity from renewable sources include Greece, Slovenia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Hungary, and Malta. Malta has the lowest share, at 9.5%.

Although Poland is 22nd in the ranking, it has met the EU target of 15% renewable energy in gross final energy consumption. According to Eurostat, Poland’s share of renewable energy in 2020 was 16.2%. This confirms earlier reports from the Central Statistical Office that Poland’s renewable energy share exceeded 16% in 2020.

What renewable energy sources dominate?

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The above graph shows the share of electricity from different renewable sources in the total electricity consumption in the European Union. It indicates that the largest share came from wind sources (36%) and hydro sources (33%), which together make up over two-thirds of the total electricity produced from renewable sources. Solar energy (14%), solid biofuels (8%), and other renewable sources (8%) had smaller shares.