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Share of renewable energy in EU consumption more than doubles

Oil&Gas Materials 24 January 2020 14:06 (UTC +04:00)
Share of renewable energy in EU consumption more than doubles

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.24

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

In 2018, the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption reached 18 percent in the European Union (EU), up from 17.5 percent in 2017 and more than double the share in 2004 (8.5 percent), the first year for which the data are available, Trend reports citing Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

“The increase in the share of renewables is essential to reach the EU climate and energy goals. The EU's target is to reach 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 and at least 32 percent by 2030. Among the 28 EU Member States, 12 Member States have already reached a share equal to or above their national 2020 binding targets: Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Finland and Sweden. Four Member States are close to meet their targets (i.e. less than 1 percentage point (pp) away), nine are between 1 and 4 pp away, while three are 4 or more pp away from their targets,” reads the report released by Eurostat.

Sweden had by far the highest share, lowest share in the Netherlands In 2018, the share of renewable sources in gross final energy consumption increased in 21 of the 28 Member States compared with 2017, while remaining stable in one Member State and decreasing in six, according to the report.

The report shows that since 2004, it has significantly grown in all Member States.

Sweden had by far the highest share in 2018 with more than half (54.6 percent) of its energy coming from renewable sources, ahead of Finland (41.2 percent), Latvia (40.3 percent), Denmark (36.1 percent) and Austria (33.4 percent), according to Eurostat.

“At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest proportion of renewables was registered in the Netherlands (7.4 percent). Low shares, less than ten percent, were also recorded in Malta (8 percent), Luxembourg (9.1 percent) and Belgium (9.4 percent). The Netherlands and France: furthest away from their goals Each EU Member State has its own Europe 2020 target,” said Eurostat.

Romania is 0.1 percentage point (pp) away from its national 2020 objective, according to the report.

“Hungary, Austria and Portugal are less than 1 pp away and Germany, Luxembourg and Malta around 2 pp away from their 2020 targets. At the opposite end of the scale, the Netherlands (6.6 pp), France (6.4 pp), Ireland (4.9 pp), the United Kingdom (4.0 pp) and Slovenia (3.9 pp) are the furthest away from their targets.”

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Follow the author on Twitter:@Lyaman_Zeyn

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