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Indicator Assessment

Primary energy consumption by fuel

Indicator Assessment
Prod-ID: IND-1-en
  Also known as: ENER 026
Published 01 Jan 2015 Last modified 11 May 2021
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This page was archived on 21 Oct 2015 with reason: Other (New version data-and-maps/indicators/primary-energy-consumption-by-fuel-6/assessment was published)

Primary energy consumption in EU 28 in 2012 was almost the same as in 1990 and amounted to 1585 Mtoe. Between 2005-2012, primary energy consumption in the EU28 decreased by 7.3% particularly due to the economic recession and energy efficiency improvements.

Primary energy consumption in the non-EU EEA countries doubled from 71 Mtoe in 1990 to 146 Mtoe in 2012. The main reason for the difference in the trend for this group of countries was the large increase in primary energy consumption in Turkey and, to a lesser extent, in Norway.

Fossil fuels (including non-renewable waste) continued to dominate primary energy consumption in EU28, but their share declined from 82.1% in 1990 to 73.9% in 2012. The share of renewable energy sources more than doubled over the period, from 4.5% in 1990 to 11.6% in 2012, increasing at an average annual rate of 4.4%/year. The share of nuclear energy in gross inland energy consumption increased slightly from 13.1% in 1990 to 14.4% in 2012.

Primary energy consumption by fuel

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Primary energy consumption by fuel

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Average annual growth rates for different fuels

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  • Primary energy consumption in the EU28 amounted to 1585 Mtoe in 2012. Primary energy consumption increased from 1569 Mtoe in 1990 to 1711 Mtoe in 2005 (an increase of 9.0%). Between 2005 and 2012, primary energy consumption in EU28 decreased by 7.3%, reaching almost the same level in 2012 as it was in  1990. The decrease in primary energy consumption in the past years is caused by various factors, in particular the economic recession, energy efficiency improvements and the increase of the share of wind and solar in electricity production[1]. This decrease in primary energy consumption has been observed despite an increase in electricity consumption. The EU has set a target to limit primary energy consumption to no more than 1483 Mtoe primary energy by 2020[2].
  • The share of coal and lignite in EU28 primary energy consumption  decreased, from 28.9% in 1990 to 18.5% in 2012. Since 1990, the absolute consumption of coal and lignite decreased by 35% (2%/year; see also Figure 3),  due to increased use of combined-cycle gas plants replacing inefficient coal-fired power plants, induced by the relatively high coal/gas price ratio and environmental regulation. After the large scale development of US shale gas in the second half of the past decade, the coal/gas price ratio strongly decreased and at the same time carbon prices in the EU-ETS have been relatively low. As a result, since 2011, the consumption of coal and lignite again increased by 2.3%, while that of gas decreased by 2.6%.
  • The share of natural gas in EU28 primary energy consumption increased from around 18.0% in 1990 to 24.0% in 2012. Since 1990, the absolute consumption of natural gas increased by 34% (1.4%/year). This was due to switching from coal to gas as explained above. Since 2005, natural gas consumption has however fallen by 12%. This is partly as a result of the decrease in the coal price, the relatively low carbon price in the EU-ETS and the increase of renewable energy. The increase of renewable electricity has particularly impacted the operating mode of gas-fired power plants, from continuously running (base-load) in the past, to much more operating during peak-load only, thereby reducing yearly operation hours. The consumption of natural gas for heating in the residential and service sectors was influenced by weather conditions and income levels.
  • The share of  oil (crude oil and petroleum products) in EU28 primary energy consumption decreased from around 35.0% in 1990 to 30.6% in 2012. Since 1990, the absolute consumption of fossil oil decreased by 12% (0.6%/year). The observed decline took place particularly after 2005. Since 2005, oil consumption has fallen by 16%. Several factors contributed to this decline: the increase in the use of biofuels in the transport sector, high oil prices, the economic downturn, and energy efficiency improvements of cars. Prior to this decline, consumption remained quite stable as a result of the increased demand for petrol and diesel in the transport sector being offset by a decline in the use of oil for power generation and a decline of in oil use in the industry and residential sectors.
  • The share of nuclear energy in EU28 primary energy consumption increased from around 13.1% in 1990 to 14.4% in 2012. Since 1990, the absolute consumption of nuclear energy increased by 11% (0.5%/year). Since 2005, however, consumption of nuclear energy has fallen by 12%. The reason is that several old nuclear power plants have been shut down (in Bulgaria in 2002 and 2006, in Lithuania in 2004 and 2009, in Slovakia in 2006 and 2008), and more recently, eight nuclear power plants have been shut down in Germany in 2011 in reaction to the Fukushima accident in Japan.
  • The share of renewable energy in EU28 primary energy consumption increased from around 4.5% in 1990 to 11.6% in 2012. Since 1990, the absolute consumption of renewable energy increased by 159% (4.4%/year). Since 2005, consumption of renewable energy has increased by 57%. This growth has been stimulated by national and European policies to promote renewable energy, such as feed-in tariffs and premiums, obligations for electricity producers, obligations for renewables in transport fuel, et cetera (see ENER 29).  In recent years, various EU governments have reduced support levels for renewable energy, partly in response to decreasing costs for renewable energy technologies and higher than expected growth (and thus support costs), but also in response to increasing government budget deficits following the economic recession[3].
  • Between 1990 and 2012, primary energy consumption in non-EU EEA countries has doubled, increasing from 71 Mtoe in 1990 to 146 Mtoe in 2012 (Figure 1b). The main reason for the difference in the trend for this group of countries was the large increase in primary energy consumption in Turkey (+3.8%/year;) and, to a lesser extent, in Norway (+1.6%/year). In Turkey, the trend is driven by strong economic and population growth while in Norway developments may be driven by growth in certain industrial activities such as the chemical industry.
  • The contribution of different fuels in primary energy consumption  in  non EU-EEA in 2012 was quite different from the EU28. In particular, nuclear represents a much higher share in the EU28 (14.4%), while it is absent in non EU-EEA countries considered here.. Renewables have a greater share in primary energy consumption in the non-EU EEA (21.3% in non-EU EEA, compared to 11.6% in the EU28). The share of fossil fuels (including non-renewable waste) is 73.9% for the EU28 and 79.6% in the non EU-EEA in 2012.
  • Fuel switching has implications on how dependent Europe is on imported fuels (please see ENER 36 for a discussion on the dependency of the EU on imported fuels).  

 

[1] Electricity produced from wind and solar exhibit no conversion loss. Hence, an increase in the share of wind and solar in electricity production leads to a reduction of primary energy consumption.

[2] For the EU27 the target was set at 1474 Mtoe. With the accession of Croatia the target was revised to 1483 Mtoe primary energy.

[3] Held et al., 2014. Design features of support schemes for renewable electricity, http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/studies/doc/2014_design_features_of_support_schemes.pdf

Supporting information

Indicator definition

Primary energy consumption is defined as gross inland energy consumption minus the energy consumed for purposes other then producing useful energy (non-energy use). Gross inland energy consumption represents the quantity of energy necessary to satisfy the inland consumption of a country. It is calculated as the sum of the gross inland consumption of energy from solid fuels, oil, gas, nuclear and renewable sources, and a small component of ‘other’ sources (industrial waste and net imports of electricity). The relative contribution of a specific fuel is measured by the ratio between the energy consumption originating from that specific fuel and the total primary energy consumption calculated for a calendar year.

Units

Energy consumption is measured in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). The share of each fuel in total energy consumption is presented in the form of a percentage.


 

Policy context and targets

Context description

Environmental context

The level, the evolution as well as the structure of the primary energy consumption provide an indication of the extent  environmental pressures caused by energy production and consumption are likely to diminish or not. This indicator displays data disaggregated by fuel type as the associated environmental impacts are fuel-specific.

The consumption of fossil fuels (such as crude oil, oil products, hard coal, lignite and natural and derived gas) leads to resource depletion and emissions of greenhouse gases as well as emissions of air pollutants (e.g. SO2 and NOX). This in turn has negative consequences for public health and biodiversity. The degree of environmental impact depends on the relative share of different fossil fuels and the extent to which pollution abatement measures are used. Natural gas, for instance, has approximately 40% less carbon than coal per unit of energy content, and 25% less carbon content than oil, and contains only marginal quantities of sulphur.

Increasing consumption of nuclear energy at the expense of fossil fuels contributes to greenhouse gas emission reduction, but comes with safety and nuclear waste issues.

Renewable energy consumption are more environmentally benign, as the exploitation of renewables does not give rise to greenhouse gas emissions (except land-use change issues related to biomass and emissions related to the use of non-renewable energy during the construction of renewable energy installations). Renewables usually lead to significantly lower levels of air pollutants (except when related to biomass applications). Renewable energy can, however, have impacts on landscapes and ecosystems (for example,  wind turbines severely impact the landscape and much land is needed for the production of biomass and may have impact on biodiversity).

Policy context

  • Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC.
    Sets, amongst others, targets for primary energy and final energy for the EU as a whole (Art. 3) and puts an obligation on member states to meet a 1.5% energy efficiency improvement per year between 2013-2020 (Art. 7).
  • Council Directive 2013/12/EU of 13 May 2013 adapting Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy efficiency, by reason of the accession of the Republic of Croatia.
    This revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive was necessary to account for the accession of Croatia to the EU.
  • Communication from the commission to the European parliament and the council - European Energy Security Strategy, COM/2014/0330 final.
    Describes the EU strategy  to ensure that energy supplies are uninterrupted and energy prices remain stable.
  • A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050 (COM(2011) 112 final)
    Presents a roadmap for action in line with a 80-95% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050.
  • Directive 2009/125/EC of the European parliament and of the council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of Ecodesign requirements for energy-related products
    Establishes energy efficiency standards for various categories of products, such as dishwashers and refrigerators.
  • Energy Efficiency Plan 2011 (COM(2011) 109 final)
    Proposes additional measures to achieve the 20 % primary energy saving target by 2020.
  • Energy 2020 – A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy (COM(2010) 639 final)
    Energy efficiency is the first of the five priorities of the new energy strategy defined by the Commission.


The Council adopted on 6 April 2009 the climate-energy legislative package containing measures to fight climate change and promote renewable energy. This package is designed to achieve the EU's overall environmental target of a 20 % reduction in greenhouse gases and a 20 % share of renewable energy in the EU's total energy consumption by 2020. The climate action and renewable energy package includes the following main policy documents :

  • Directive 2009/29/EC of the European parliament and of the Council amending directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the community
  • Directive 2009/31/ECof the European parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide
  • Directive 2009/28/ECof the European parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
  • Directive 2008/101/ECof the European parliament and of the Council amending directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas Emission allowance trading within the community
  • Regulation (EC) no 443/2009 of the European parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the community’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles
  • Regulation (EC) no 510/2011 of the European parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles
  • Large Combustion Plant Directive; Directive 2001/80/EC

Aims to control emissions of SO2, NOx and particulate matter from large combustion plants (> 50 MW).

  • Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control)

Sets emission limits for industrial installations

  • Second Strategic Energy Review; COM(2008) 781 final

Strategic review on short, medium and long term targets on EU energy security.

  • Energy Performance Buildings Directive (recast); Directive 2010/31/EU

Strengthens the energy performance requirements of the 2002 Directive.

  •  Directive on GHG emissions of fuels and biofuels; COM(2007) 18 final/2

Sets targets for the GHG emissions from different fuel types (e.g. by improving refinery technologies) and allows the blending of up to 10 % of biofuels into diesel and petrol.

Targets

The Directive 2012/27/eu on energy efficiency establishes a common framework of measures for the promotion of energy efficiency within the European Union in order to achieve the headline target of 20% reduction in primary energy consumption. Member States are requested to set indicative targets. It is up to the Member states whether they base their targets on primary energy consumption, final energy consumption, primary or final energy savings or energy intensity.

Related policy documents

  • 2002/91/EC
    Energy Performance Buildings Directive
  • 2008/c 82/01
    Community guidelines on state aid for environmental protection (2008/c 82/01)
  • 2009/31/EC
    Directive 2009/31/ec of the European parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide.
  • Climate action and renewable energy package (CARE Package)
    Combating climate change is a top priority for the EU. Europe is working hard to cut its greenhouse gas emissions substantially while encouraging other nations and regions to do likewise.
  • COD/2007/0297
    Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles
  • COM(2007) 18 final
    Directive on GHG emissions of fuels and biofuels; COM(2007) 18 final/2
  • COM(2008) 16 final - COD 2008/0013
    Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system of the Community.
  • COM(2008) 17 final - COD 2008/0014
    Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020.
  • COM(2008) 778
    Eco-Design Directive; COM(2008) 778
  • COM(2008) 781
    COM(2008) 781 final - Second Strategic Energy Review
  • COM(2010) 639 final: Energy 2020 – A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy
    A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy
  • COM(2011) 109 final: Energy Efficiency Plan 2011
    Energy Efficiency Plan 2011
  • COM(2011) 112 - A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050
    With its "Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050" the European Commission is looking beyond these 2020 objectives and setting out a plan to meet the long-term target of reducing domestic emissions by 80 to 95% by mid-century as agreed by European Heads of State and governments. It shows how the sectors responsible for Europe's emissions - power generation, industry, transport, buildings and construction, as well as agriculture - can make the transition to a low-carbon economy over the coming decades.
  • Directive 2001/80/EC, large combustion plants
    Directive 2001/80/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants
  • DIRECTIVE 2005/32/EC
    The Directive establises a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products and amends Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
  • DIRECTIVE 2008/101/EC
    DIRECTIVE 2008/101/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 November 2008 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community
  • DIRECTIVE 2009/28/EC
    DIRECTIVE 2009/28/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC
  • Directive 2009/29/EC
    Directive 2009/29/EC of the European parliament and of the Council amending directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the community.
  • DIRECTIVE 2010/31/EU - Energy performance of buildings directive
    DIRECTIVE 2010/31/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings(recast)
  • Directive 2012/27/eu
    DIRECTIVE 2012/27/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC
  • EEA (2009) - Review and analysis of emissions' life cycle analysis studies in the field of conventional and renewable energy generation technologies
    Copenhagen, EEA, February 2009
  • Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
    Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; adopted at COP3 in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997
  • REGULATION (EC) No 443/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 443/2009
    Regulation (ec) no 443/2009 of the European parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles.
  • REGULATION (EU) No 510/2011
    REGULATION (EU) No 510/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union's integrated approach to reduce CO 2 emissions from light-duty vehicles
 

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

Technical information

  1. Data source:
    Energy Consumption by fuel: Eurostat (historical data): http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/
  2. Description of data/Indicator definition:
    Primary energy consumption is defined as gross inland energy consumption excluding non-energetic use (such as the use of oil and gas for plastics, fertilizer or hydrogen production). Gross inland consumption is defined as primary production plus imports, recovered products and stock change, less exports and fuel supply to maritime bunkers (for seagoing ships of all flags). It therefore reflects the energy necessary to satisfy inland consumption within the limits of national territory.  The relative contribution of a specific fuel is measured by the ratio between the energy consumption originating from that specific fuel and the total primary energy consumption calculated for a calendar year. Units: Primary energy consumption is measured in million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe). The share of each fuel in primary energy consumption is presented in percentage.
  3. Geographical coverage:
    The European Environment Agency had 33 member countries at the time of writing of this fact sheet. These are the 28 European Union Member States and Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
  4. Temporal coverage: 1990-2012.
  5. Methodology and frequency of data collection:
    Data collected annually.
    Eurostat definitions for energy statistics http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_SDDS/en/nrg_quant_esms.htm
  6. Methodology of data manipulation:
    Average annual rate of growth calculated using: [(last year/base year) ^ (1/number of years) –1]*100

    The coding (used in the Eurostat database) and specific components of the indicator are:
    • B_100900 - Gross inland consumption - All Products
    • B_100900 - Gross inland consumption - Solid Fuels
    • B_100900 - Gross inland Consumption - Total petroleum products
    • B_100900 - Gross inland Consumption - Gas
    • B_100900 - Gross inland Consumption - Nuclear heat
    • B_100900 - Gross inland Consumption - Electrical energy
    • B_100900 - Gross inland Consumption - Derived heat
    • B_100900 - Gross inland Consumption - Renewable energies
    • B_100900 - Gross inland consumption - Waste (non-renewable)
    • B_101600 - Final Non-energy Consumption - All Products
    • B_101600 - Final Non-energy Consumption - Solid Fuels
    • B_101600 - Final Non-energy Consumption - Total petroleum products
    • B_101600 - Final Non-energy Consumption - Gas
    • B_101600 - Final Non-energy Consumption - Renewable energies


    These data are extracted from Eurostat datasets nrg_100a and nrg_108a.

    Qualitative information

  7. Strengths and weaknesses (at data level)
    Officially reported data, updated annually. No obvious weaknesses.
    Data have been traditionally compiled by Eurostat through the annual Joint Questionnaires, shared by Eurostat and the International Energy Agency, following a well established and harmonised methodology. Methodological information on the annual Joint Questionnaires and data compilation can be found in Eurostat's web page for metadata on energy statistics. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_SDDS/en/nrg_quant_esms.htm
    In circumstances where data for one or more of the non-EU EEA countries is unavailable, this country is left out of totals for non-EU EEA or for the EEA as a whole.
  8.  Reliability, accuracy, robustness, uncertainty (at data level):
    Indicator uncertainty (historic data)

    The share of energy consumption for a particular fuel could decrease even though the actual amount of energy used from that fuel grows, as the development of the share for a particular fuel depends on the change in its consumption relative to the total consumption of energy.From an environmental point of view, however, the relative contribution of each fuel has to be put in the wider context. Absolute (as opposed to relative) volumes of energy consumption for each fuel are the key to understanding the environmental pressures. These depend on the total amount of energy consumption as well as on the fuel mix used and the extent to which pollution abatement technologies are used.

    Gross inland energy consumption may not accurately represent the energy needs of a country in terms of final energy demand. Fuel switching may in some cases have a significant effect in changing gross inland energy consumption even though there is no change in final energy demand.

  9. Overall scoring – historical data (1 = no major problems, 3 = major reservations):
    Relevance: 1
    Accuracy: 1
    Comparability over time: 1     
    Comparability over space: 1

Methodology for gap filling

No gap filling necessary

Methodology references

No methodology references available.

 

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

The share of energy consumption for a particular fuel could decrease even though the actual amount of energy used from that fuel grows, as the development of the share for a particular fuel depends on the change in its consumption relative to the total consumption of energy.

From an environmental point of view, however, the relative contribution of each fuel has to be put in the wider context. Absolute (as opposed to relative) volumes of energy consumption for each fuel are the key to understanding the environmental pressures. These depend on the total amount of energy consumption as well as on the fuel mix used and the extent to which pollution abatement technologies are used.

Total energy consumption may not accurately represent the energy needs of a country (in terms of final energy demand). Fuel switching may in some cases have a significant effect in changing total energy consumption even though there is no change in (final) energy demand. This is because different fuels and different technologies convert primary energy into useful energy with different efficiency rates.

Data sets uncertainty

Officially reported data, updated annually. No obvious weaknesses.

Data have been traditionally compiled by Eurostat through the annual Joint Questionnaires, shared by Eurostat and the International Energy Agency, following a well established and harmonised methodology. Methodological information on the annual Joint Questionnaires and data compilation can be found in Eurostat's web page for metadata on energy statistics.

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_SDDS/en/nrg_quant_esms.htm

Rationale uncertainty

The structure of the energy mix in gross inland energy consumption provides an indication of the environmental pressures associated with energy consumption. The type and magnitude of the environmental impacts associated with energy consumption, such as resource depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutant emissions, water pollution, accumulation of radioactive waste, etc., strongly depend on the type and amount of fuel consumed as well as abatement technologies applied.

Data sources

Other info

DPSIR: Driving force
Typology: Descriptive indicator (Type A - What is happening to the environment and to humans?)
Indicator codes
  • ENER 026
Frequency of updates
Updates are scheduled once per year
EEA Contact Info info@eea.europa.eu

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Temporal coverage

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