Business Green, August 23, 2010
Report shows almost a fifth of EU energy was generated from renewable sources last year
European efforts to accelerate the development of low-carbon energy supplies are working. That is the central conclusion to be drawn from new figures from the EU's statistics agency, Eurostat, which reveal that almost a fifth of energy production in the EU came from renewable sources last year.
The data-rich report, entitled Statistical Aspects of the Energy Economy in 2009, concluded that renewable energy accounted for 18.4 per cent of energy production in the EU, putting the sector in third place behind natural gas which accounted for 19.3 per cent and nuclear energy which provided 28 per cent of the EU's power.
Renewable energy output increased by more than eight per cent compared to 2008, while total energy production from natural gas and hard coal power plants fell by 10.1 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively.
Overall EU energy consumption dropped 5.5 per cent in 2009, and while much of the fall was attributed to the economic downturn, the report also noted that the energy intensity of the EU's economy fell for the sixth consecutive year, suggesting that policies designed to enhance energy efficiency are having some effect.
The figures are likely to be welcomed in Brussels as further evidence that the EU's goal of generating 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 is achievable.
The past few years have seen a surge in renewable capacity across many of the EU's member states, with a number of countries such as Portugal, Spain and Germany reaching new highs for renewable energy generation and at times providing between 40 and 50 per cent of their energy from renewable sources.