Green Forum • 22 February, 2024 at 7:00 AM
In 2022, renewable energy sources made up 41.2% of gross electricity consumption in the EU, 3.4% more than in 2021 (37.8%) and well ahead of other electricity-generation sources such as nuclear (less than 22%), gas (less than 20%) or coal (less than 17%).
Wind and hydropower collectively accounted for over two-thirds of the total renewable electricity generated (37.5% and 29.9% respectively). The remaining one-third came from solar (18.2%), solid biofuels (6.9%), and other renewable sources (7.5%). Notably, solar power has seen the most significant growth, rising from just 1% of EU electricity consumption in 2008.
Sweden led the pack in renewable electricity consumption in 2022, with 83.3% of its electricity sourced from renewables, predominantly hydro and wind. Denmark followed closely at 77.2%, mainly driven by wind power, and Austria at 74.7%, largely due to hydroelectricity. Other countries with renewable electricity shares exceeding 50% included Portugal (61.0%), Croatia (55.5%), Latvia (53.3%), and Spain (50.9%).
At the other end of the scale, the lowest shares of electricity from renewable sources were reported in Malta (10.1%), Hungary (15.3%), Czechia (15.5%) and Luxembourg (15.9%).