EU Renewables Account for Just Over a Quarter of Total Energy Use in 2024

The latest European Union statistics reveal that renewable energy supplied around 25% of the total energy consumed last year; this figure represents steady progress toward the EU's long-term goal of moving away from fossil fuels. In comparison to 2017, wind, solar, and biomass continued to experience consistent annual increases in their respective shares of renewables, contributing to the overall increase in renewables' share of final energy consumption.

As per recent reports, the EU's renewable energy sources accounted for 25.2% of total gross final energy consumption, increasing just under 1 percentage point from last year, but nevertheless demonstrating a gradual increase that has persisted over the previous decade and that has been supported by continued investment in developing new clean energy capacity as well as by implementing various polices to lower carbon emissions.

While the current share of renewables marks important progress, meeting the EU’s 2030 target of 42.5% will be challenging. It will require a much faster pace of renewable deployment over the remainder of the decade.

Member States Varied Share Of Renewable Energy Resources

European Union (EU) member states have varying shares of renewable energy resources. The total amounts of renewable energy consumed vary from just under 15 per cent in some EU member states such as Belgium and Luxembourg, which use little or no renewable energy, to over 60 per cent in Sweden, which sources its energy mostly from the large-scale use of biomass and hydropower and wind energy. In addition to Sweden, some other EU countries continue to see very large amounts of renewable energy in their total energy use, including Finland and Denmark, who have invested very heavily in renewable energy resources using large-scale wind power and bioenergy.

On the other hand, many countries located toward western and southern Europe continue to experience extremely low levels of renewable energy consumption. In particular, countries such as Belgium and Luxembourg had less than 15 per cent of total energy consumption from renewable energy sources, in addition to countries like Malta and Ireland that had similar amounts of renewable energy. Overall, there is a noticeable lack of consistency of progress throughout the EU with respect to Europe’s energy policies and the need to target specific country specific energy policies to help drive additional use of renewable energy resources.

Electricity generation relies more on renewable energy than total energy consumption.

According to the previous year's statistics, in great part, the EU had achieved almost 50% of its Total Electric Energy Output from renewable sources. Therefore it has become a significant achievement for the electric energy market.

The growth of renewable energy is primarily typified by the use of wind and solar energy. The continuous development of solar energy is seen throughout many of the member countries and the continued supply of hydroelectric energy keeps the foundation of producing electric energy steady. In addition, several regions produce the electric energy they require using biomass as an energy source.

Although there has been an increase in some countries and overall electricity generation is increasing, other sectors still rely on fossil fuels, which limits overall share of electricity generated from renewable sources compared to total electricity used in the energy sector.

Transportation and Heating Continue to Face Many Challenges

The transportation sector remains far behind the electrical sector in terms of renewable energy usage since biofuels and renewably sourced electricity have become more popular, yet fossil fuel sources continue to dominate all three forms of road transportation, air transport and shipping within the EU.

Both the heating and cooling industries continue to experience these same challenges. Many residences and industries still rely on natural gas and other fossil fuels for heat production, particularly in countries with older buildings and fewer options for district heating systems. Movement toward alternative energy will ultimately determine both industries’ ability to meet future targets for renewable energy usage.

As experts have mentioned, there are three areas that must be expanded to assist in reducing emissions produced through heating and cooling: heat pump technology; district heating networks; and the production of sustainable bioenergy. While these fields have made significant strides in their respective power generation capabilities, they have fallen behind the electrical sector in terms of creating an even playing field between current and potential targets.

Advancements Toward the Milestones of 2030

The renewable energy targets set by the European Union form a fundamental component of the overall climate strategy to cut down greenhouse gas emissions drastically by 2030 with an aim at achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The revisions to this legislation have increased the ambitions level placed on Member States while also creating greater responsibility for the Member States to accelerate the deployment of Renewable Energy.

In addition to an upward trajectory of the adoption of renewable energy across Europe, experts believe that the incremental annual growth in renewable energy will not suffice. To achieve the targets set for 2030, the EU must expedite the approval processes for new projects and infrastructure, enable additional capacity to support their expansion, and invest heavily in Energy Storage.

The Policies of the EU and Member States related to renewable energy are viewed as key to ensuring that there is an ongoing increase in the progress made in renewable energy. In particular, the need for simplifying the permitting process and fostering cross-border collaboration in energy is viewed as essential.

The Energy Transition - Looking Forward

The future of renewable energy in the European Union will see an increased role in the overall energy mix due to continued decreases in the cost of technology, as well as an increase in the support from policymakers. However, there remain significant challenges, especially related to pressure on the electricity grid, interruptions in the supply chain, and shortages of skilled labor.

In order for us to achieve the climate-related commitments we have made as a continent, we will have to address these obstacles to ensure that we can continue with the accelerated levels of renewable energy growth needed to achieve our long-term energy and climate commitments.

Sources: Data for this analysis has been compiled using EU official statistical sources and the EU's energy sector analysis.