New figures from the European Commission show that the share of renewable energy in the European Union’s energy consumption has continued to grow, nearing its target of 20% by 2020, reaching 16.7% in 2015.
The European Union is aiming to increase its share of renewable energy in the gross final consumption of energy up to 20% by 2020, and 27% by 2030. The figures come from a new data article published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Primary production of renewable energy also increased, part of a long term trend which has seen primary production increase by 184% between 1990 and 2015, with only two yearly decreases (one in 2002 and one in 2011, both due to variances in hydropower).
Primary production of energy from renewable sources, EU-28, 1990-2015
Sweden had the highest share of renewable energy in its gross final consumption, with 53.9%, followed by Finland with 39.3%, Latvia with 37.6%, Austria with 33%, and Denmark with 30.8%. Dropping to the other end of the scale, Luxembourgh and Malta ranked lowest with only 5% of renewable energy in their gross final consumption, followed by the Netherlands with 5.8%, Belgium with 7.9%, and the United Kingdom with only 8.2%.
Where do these figures sit with regard to individual Member States energy targets? Eleven countries have already reached the level required to meet their national 2020 targets — Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Finland, and Sweden — while Austria and Slovakia are within spitting distance of their targets. On the other end of the scale, however, are the Netherlands which is 8.2 percentage points from reaching its national 2020 target, followed by France which is 7.8 points away, and Ireland and the United Kingdom which are both 6.8 percentage points away.
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