Renewable energy sources accounted for 47.5 per cent of gross electricity consumption in the EU in 2024, a 2.1 per cent increase over 2023, according to figures from Eurostat.
The data released by the EU’s statistcs agency show that the share of renewables stood at 15.9% in 2004, increasing to 28.6% in 2014 and jumping to 47.5% in 2024.
Wind (38.0% of the total) and hydro power (26.4%) accounted for almost two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewables. Solar power followed, contributing 23.4%, while solid biofuels and other renewable sources accounted for 5.8% and 6.4%, respectively.
Solar power is the fastest-growing source: in 2008, it accounted for only 1%, showing a robust increase from just 7.4 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2008 to 304 TWh in 2024.
More than 75% of electricity consumed in 2024 was generated from renewable sources in Austria (90.1%, mostly hydro), Sweden (88.1%, mostly hydro and wind) and Denmark (79.7%, mostly wind), the data shows. Shares above 50% were also registered in Portugal (65.8%), Spain (59.7%), Croatia (58.0%), Latvia (55.5%), Finland (54.3%), Germany (54.1%), Greece (51.2%) and the Netherlands (50.5%).
At the other end of the scale, the share of electricity from renewables was less than 25% in Malta (10.7%), Czechia (17.9%), Luxembourg (20.5%), Hungary and Cyprus (both 24.1%) and Slovakia (24.9%).
