Renewables produced almost half of electricity in EU in 2024

Almost half of the electricity produced last year in the European Union was from renewable energy sources. Sweden has the highest rank in the 27-country bloc while Malta is last.

In 2024, 47.4% of net electricity generated in the EU came from renewable energy sources, up by 2.6 percentage points year on year, according to Eurostat.

Wind and hydropower together accounted for more than two thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources (39.1% and 29.9% respectively). The remainder came from solar (22.4%), combustible fuels (8.1%) and geothermal energy (only around 0.5%), according the update showed.

Wind and hydropower accounted for more than two thirds of power production from renewables

In 2023, the combination of wind (38.5% of the total) and hydropower (28.2%) also contributed more than two thirds of total electricity generated from renewables. Solar power followed, with a 20.5% share, while solid biofuels and other green sources made up 6.2% and 6.6%, respectively.

Eurostat revealed the growth in renewable electricity over the past decade was largely achieved by the expansion of wind and solar power. Solar power is the fastest-growing source, rising from just 7.4 TWh in 2008 to 252.1 TWh in 2023 and 304 TWh in 2024.

Back in 2008, solar represented only 1% of total electricity produced from renewables.

With 73.8%, Croatia holds the third place in the EU

Among the 27 EU member states, Denmark had the highest share of renewables in its net electricity generation, 88.8%, coming mostly from wind. It is followed by Portugal (87.4%, mostly wind and hydro) and Croatia (73.8%, mostly hydropower).

The lowest shares of renewables were recorded in Malta (15.1%), Czechia (17.5%) and Cyprus (24.1%), the data reads.

In the region tracked by Balkan Green Energy News, Croatia has the best score. Greece is second and Romania came in third, while Slovenia, Bulgaria and Cyprus occupy the last three spots, in that order.