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Indicator Assessment
The share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption in the EU28 reached 14.1% in 2012, representing 70% of the EU’s 20% renewable energy target for 2020. Renewable energy sources represented 15.6% of gross final energy consumption for heating and cooling, 23.5% of final electricity consumption and 5.1% of transport fuels consumption in 2012.
Key assessment: share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption
Specific assessments: what is the growth in renewable energy use for electricity, heating and cooling, and respectively transport in EEA countries?
[1] In the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC gross final energy consumption is defined as energy commodities delivered for energy purposes to final consumers (industry, transport, households, services, agriculture, forestry and fisheries), including the consumption of electricity and heat by the energy branch for electricity and heat production and including losses of electricity and heat in distribution and transmission.
[2] The share of renewable energy in transport is defined in Article 3 of the Renewable Energy Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.
[3] Normalised consumption for these countries was calculated according to the requirement of the Renewable Energy Directive.
[4] More information available in the RES-Legal database (http://www.res-legal.eu/) and in the data base of the World Energy Council on policies and measures (http://www.wec-policies.enerdata.eu/).
[5] With normalised hydropower and electricity from wind.
[6] A 5.75% target for biofuels in transport, introduced by Directive 2003/30/EC on the promotion of the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport, was in force until 1st January 2012. Those countries that have underperformed in 2010 still had another year to meet that Directive’s demands. After that deadline, the target was replaced by the specific target in the Renewable Energy Directive of 10% renewables share in final transport energy consumption by 2020.
Gross Final Renewable Energy Consumption is the amount of renewable energy consumed for electricity, heating and cooling, and transport in the Member States with actual and normalised hydro and wind power generation[1] and expressed as a share against gross final energy consumption.
The indicator is developed for measuring the contribution to the 2020 and 2030 objectives on renewable energy for the EU.
(i) achieving a binding minimum 40 % domestic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990;
(ii) achieving a binding minimum 27 % share of renewable energy consumption; and
(iii) achieving an indicative minimum 27 % improvement in energy efficiency.
[1] In accordance with accounting rules under Directive 2009/28/EC, electricity from hydro and wind needs to be normalised to smooth the effects of annual variations (hydro 15 years and wind 5 years).
[2] Directive 2009/28/EC
[3] Gross final energy consumption means the energy commodities delivered for energy purposes to industry, transport, households, services including public services, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, including the consumption of electricity and heat by the energy branch for electricity and heat production and including losses of electricity and heat in distribution and transmission (cf. Art. 2f of Directive 2009/28/EC). With this, it excludes transformation losses which are included in gross inland energy consumption. In calculating a Member State's gross final energy consumption for the purpose of measuring its compliance with the targets and interim RED and NREAP trajectories, the amount of energy consumed in aviation shall, as a proportion of that Member State's gross final consumption of energy, be considered to be no more than 6.18% (4.12% for Cyprus and Malta).
Gross final energy consumption, Distribution losses, Renewable electricity consumption, Renewables consumed in Heating and Cooling, Renewables consumed in transport: measured in 1000 tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe).
Environmental context
The share of RES consumption provides a broad indication of progress towards reducing the impact of energy consumption on the environment as energy from renewable sources has generally a lower life-cycle environmental impact per unit of energy produced than energy sourced from fossil fuels. Increasing the share of renewables in energy consumption will help the EU to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from power generation but the overall impact will depend on the interactions between RES support frameworks and other policy frameworks, especially the European Emissions Trading Scheme Directive (2009/29/EC) that establishes a scheme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a cost efficient way.
Emissions of air pollutants are also generally lower for renewable electricity production than for electricity produced from fossil fuels. The exception to this is the incineration of Municipal and Solid Waste (which, due to high costs of separation, usually involves the combustion of some mixed wastes including materials contaminated with heavy metals) and the combustion of biomass feedstock in inefficient appliances (such as for instance certain household boilers). Emissions to the atmosphere from the incineration of municipal solid waste are subject to stringent regulations including tight controls on emissions of cadmium, mercury, and other such substances.
Like with all energy resources, the exploitation of renewable energy sources may also have negative impacts on landscapes, habitats and ecosystems, though many impacts can be minimised through careful site selection. Some types of biomass and biofuel crops have considerable land, water and agricultural input requirements such as fertilisers and pesticides. Hydropower schemes can have adverse impacts including flooding, disruption of ecosystems and hydrology, and socio-economic impacts if resettlement is required (for large hydro). Some solar photovoltaic schemes require relatively large quantities of heavy metals in their construction and geothermal energy can release pollutant gases carried by hot fluids if not properly controlled. Wind turbines can have visual and noise impacts in the areas in which they are sited. On the other hand offshore wind farms can have a positive impact on the marine environment. They can provide regeneration areas for fish and benthic populations. This can be explained not only because of reduced trawling activities but also because offshore wind farms foundations function as an artificial reef encouraging the creation of new habitats[3].
[1] Gross avoided GHG emissions in the EU result from the substitution by renewable energy of more GHG-intensive forms of energy production in the energy mix.
[2] Furthermore emission reductions achieved through RES-E schemes are associated with abatement costs above the ETS price and therefore affect the static efficiency of the policy instrument mix (Rey et al., 2013).
[3] European Wind Energy Association, 2012, Positive environmental impacts of offshore wind farms (www.ewea.org).
Policy context
References
COM(2014) 015 final: A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030.
COM(2012) 0271 final: Renewable Energy : a major player in the European energy market.
COM(2011) 112 final: A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050.
COM(2010) 639 final: Energy 2020 – A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy.
COM(2007) 723 - European Strategic Energy Technology Plan.
COM(2008) 19 - Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.
COM(2008) 781 final - Second Strategic Energy Review.
Directive 2001/77/EC – Directive 2001/77/EC on the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market.
Directive 2003/30/EC - Directive 2003/30/EC on the promotion of the use biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport.
Directive 2006/12/EC - Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on waste.
Directive 2009/28/EC - Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC.
ECN (2011) Renewable Energy Projections as Published in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans of the European Member States Covering all 27 EU Member States, available at: https://www.ecn.nl/docs/library/report/2010/e10069.pdf.
EEA (2009) - EEA Scientific Committee, Suspend 10 percent biofuels target, says EEA's scientific advisory body. http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/suspend-10-percent-biofuels-target-says-eeas-scientific-advisory-body.
EU (2009) Climate action and renewable energy package (CARE Package) http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/climate_action.htm.
EU(2013) Renewable energy progress report, COM(2013) 175 final, available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52013DC0175&from=EN.
EU(2010) Summary of the Member States Forecast Documents, available at http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/action_plan_en.htm.
EU project RE-SHAPING (“Shaping an effective and efficient European renewable energy market”) to assist Member State governments in preparing for the implementation of the RES Directive and to shape a European policy for RES in the medium to long term (website http://www.reshaping-res-policy.eu/).
Policy targets for 2020
The Renewable Energy Directive commits the Union to reaching a 20% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2020 and a 10% share of renewable energy consumed in transport by the same year. It sets binding national targets for renewable energy consumption by 2020 and it requires Member States to adopt and publish National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs)[1] that outline how countries expect to reach their legally binding 2020 renewable energy target. The Directive also provides options for cooperation to help countries achieve their targets cost effectively, and it puts forward a set of sustainability criteria for biofuels.
If all national commitments adopted by countries in the NREAPs of 2010 are fulfilled, then the EU should slightly overachieve its 2020 Renewable Energy Directive target. According to the national NREAP commitments, the share of RES consumption at EU level should increase faster from 2012 to 2018 compared to the indicative Renewable Energy Directive trajectory for this period.
An analysis[2] of the 28 EU Member State action plans shows that renewable energy output is projected to grow by 6% per year on average. Wind power, solar electricity and biofuels are foreseen to contribute with the highest growth rates. If all Member States follow the trajectory outlined in their plans, the EU will exceed its 20% renewable energy target by 0.6 percentage points.
In 2012, Sweden, Estonia and Bulgaria within the EU, as well as Iceland among EEA member countries, have already met their renewable energy target for 2020. Seven other EU Member States and Norway are already very close to reaching their 2020 targets in 2012: Romania (95%), Lithuania and Austria (94%), Latvia and Finland (90%), Denmark (87%) and the Czech Republic (86%) (see Figure 3).
Further growth to achieve the 20% target will depend on further fine-tuning of existing policy frameworks, improved market conditions for grid access of renewable sources, fully implementing a guarantee of origin system to allow further development of renewable consumer market. In addition, better, more integrated planning will be required to ensure not only high efficiency of investment and accelerated pace of development but also that the penetration of these sources takes place in a manner that would minimize the environmental impact within and outside the European Union.
[1] NREAP’s were submitted by 30 June 2010
[2] Based on an analysis of NREAPs by ECN. ECN, 2011. Renewable Energy Projections as Published in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans of the European Member States Covering all 27 EU Member States, available at: https://www.ecn.nl/docs/library/report/2010/e10069.pdf.
Use of flexible mechanisms as provided by the Renewable Directive
Flexible and cooperative measures to help countries achieve their renewable energy targets in a cost-effective manner and without undermining market stability are foreseen in the Renewable Energy Directive[1]: statistical transfer, joint projects and join support schemes. Additionally Member States can also import renewable electricity from third countries outside EU (“joint projects between Member States and third countries”).
Member States may agree on the statistical transfer of a specified amount of renewable energy between themselves. Renewable energy is thus virtually transferred to the statistics of another Member State, counting towards the national renewable energy source (RES) target of the latter Member State.
Joint projects are RES electricity or heating/cooling projects between two or several Member States; one Member State may provide financial support for a RES project in another country and count (part of) the project’s energy production towards its own target. They can also cooperate on any type of joint project relating to the production of renewable energy, involving private operators if they like.
In the case of joint support schemes, two or more Member States may decide, on a voluntary basis, to join or partly coordinate their national support schemes in order to help achieve their targets. In such cases, a certain amount of energy from renewable sources produced in the territory of one participating Member State may count towards the national overall target of another participating Member State.
According to the Member States forecasts in their NREAPs, ten countries project to have a surplus in 2020 compared to their binding target. This surplus could be available to transfer to another Member State that falls short of its target, through the use of the Directive's cooperation mechanisms.
[1] The Directive uses the term “cooperation mechanisms” instead of “flexibility mechanisms” in order to distinguish these mechanisms from the Kyoto flexible mechanisms.
Technical information
Geographical coverage:
The Agency had 33 member countries. These are the 28 European Union Member States and Iceland plus Norway. Switzerland, Turkey and Liechtenstein are not covered in this factsheet due to lack of data for recent years.
Temporal coverage: 2005-2012
Methodology and frequency of data collection: Data collected annually.
Eurostat definitions and concepts for energy statistics http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_SDDS/en/nrg_quant_esms.htm
Methodology of data manipulation:
The share of renewable energy sources as a percentage of gross final energy consumption.
The renewable energy shares data used for this indicator are directly taken from the Eurostat SHARES tool (2012).The SHARES tool focuses on the harmonised calculation of the share of energy from renewable sources among EU Member States according the guidelines of the Renewable Energy Directive and based on national energy data reported to Eurostat.
The SHARES tool, detailed results and manual are http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/other_documents
Qualitative information
9. Overall scoring – historic data (1 = no major problems, 3 = major reservations):
Relevance: 1
Accuracy: 1
Comparability over time: 1
Comparability over space: 1
No gap filling necessary.
No methodology references available.
Indicator uncertainty (historic data):
Biomass and wastes, as defined by Eurostat, cover organic, non-fossil material of biological origin, which may be used for heat production or electricity generation. They comprise wood and wood waste, biogas, municipal solid waste (MSW) and biofuels. MSW comprises biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes produced by different sectors. Non-biodegradable municipal and solid wastes are not considered to be renewable, but current data availability does not allow the non-biodegradable content of wastes to be identified separately, except for industry.
The electricity produced as a result from hydropower storage systems is not classified as a renewable source of energy in terms of electricity production, but is part of the gross electricity consumption in a country. The hydro and wind generation is calculated as actual generation and normalised generation. Normalised generation is calculated using the weighted average load factor over the last 15 years for hydro and 5-year for wind.
The indicator measures the relative consumption of energy from renewable sources in total energy consumption for a particular country. The share of renewable energy could increase even if the actual energy consumption from renewable sources falls. Similarly, the share could fall despite an increase in energy consumption from renewable sources. CO2 emissions depend not on the share of renewables but on the total amount of energy consumed from fossil sources. Therefore, from an environmental point of view, attaining the 2020 target for the share of renewable energy does not necessarily imply that CO2 emissions from energy consumption will fall.
Electricity consumption within the national territory includes imports of electricity from neighbouring countries. It also excludes the electricity produced nationally but exported abroad. In some countries the contribution of electricity trade to total electricity consumption and the changes observed from year to year need to be looked at carefully when analysing trends in renewable electricity. Impacts on the (national) environment are also affected since emissions are accounted where the electricity is produced whereas consumption is accounted where the electricity is consumed.
Strengths and weaknesses (at data level):
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
No uncertainty has been specified
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/renewable-gross-final-energy-consumption-3/assessment or scan the QR code.
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