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Indicator Assessment
Fossil fuels and nuclear energy continue to dominate the fuel mix for electricity production despite their environmental impact. This impact was reduced during the 1990s with relatively clean natural gas becoming the main choice of fuel for new plants, in particular at the expense of oil. Production from coal and lignite has increased slightly in recent years. The steep increase in overall electricity production has also counteracted some of the environmental benefits from fuel switching.
Share of electricity production by fuel type, 1990-2006 (%), EU-27
Note: Data for Germany in 1990 include West Germany only
Eurostat
Share of electricity production by fuel type, EU-27, 2020
Note: N/A
IPTS, IEA
Share of electricity production by fuel type in 2006
Note: The share of renewables above refers to production and therefore it does not necessarily match exactly the share
EEA. Eurostat. IEA
Gross electricity production by fuel, EU-27
Note: Data shown are for gross electricity production and include electricity production from both public and auto-producers
Eurostat (Historic data)
The contribution of different fuels in electricity production is an important parameter regarding emissions and the security of supply. Decisions concerning the use of nuclear energy are up to Member States: the principle of subsidiarity grants member states broad autonomy in deciding their energy mix. However, the Commission has set specific targets for the use of renewable energy (COM(2008)19).
Electricity production from fossil fuels continues to dominate total electricity production, with a share of almost 54 % in 2006, despite the recognised environmental impacts such as emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and resource depletion. Natural gas, which causes less overall pollution than other fossil fuels, was the primary choice for new fossil-fired power plants over the general period 1990-2006 - although this was driven mainly by economic concerns. This fuel switching was one of the factors leading to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from public power generation over the period. However, with an increase in natural gas prices relative to coal since 1999 (IEA, 2005) as well as a decrease in hydro electricity production since 2002 due to low rainfall, the use of coal has increased in recent years and hence GHG emissions from public power generation have begun to rise again [the share of coal in electricity production remains more or less constant, but because of the general increase in electricity-use, in absolute terms since 1999 the use of coal has increased].
The share of electricity produced from gas has risen by a factor of nearly 3 in the EU-27 between 1990 and 2006. This growth has been influenced by the liberalisation of electricity markets and implementation of environmental legislation, such as the Large Combustion Plant Directive and the requirements for investing in pollution abatement technologies to lower emissions of air pollutants such as SO2 and NOx (see EN09 for more information). However, the primary factor was economic, with low gas prices for much of the 1990s and the rapid investment in transportation infrastructure for the delivery of gas from within and outside the EU, which has also assisted its progress.
Electricity produced from coal and lignite accounted for 28.7 % of EU-27 electricity production in 2006, falling from 37.3 % in 1990. After a high experienced in 2003, production from coal and lignite decreased between 2003 and 2005 before stabilising in 2006. Whether it will increase or decrease into the future will depend upon the long-term cost of gas, which is linked closely to the price of oil and has risen considerably in recent years. It will also depend upon national initiatives and environmental legislation such as the aforementioned LCPD, and in particular the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme ((2003/87/EC); COM(2008)16) which favours a shift to less carbon intensive fuels for electricity generation, such as gas, as well as improvements in generating efficiency.
Electricity produced from nuclear fuels continued to grow in absolute terms from the 1990s through to 2004 in the EU-27, after which it started to decrease. Its share of total production fell slightly to 29.5 % in 2006 compared to 30.2 % in 2005. This decline is due to the fact that few new nuclear plants have been commissioned in recent years to replace those reaching the end of their lives. However, as outlined in EN 13, in recent years a shift can be seen towards building new Nuclear Power Plants (for instance in the UK, the Baltic States and Sweden, as well as the commissioning of a new reactor in Finland) and the extension of life times of existing NPP's (for instance in the Netherlands). Furthermore, the European Commission has put forward the importance of nuclear energy as one of the opportunities to combat climate change, and it is one of the main "technology avenues" in the SET Plan.
Total renewable energy sources contributed 14.6 % to gross electricity production in the EU-27 in 2006, but this share has increased by only 2.0 percentage points since 1990. Substantial growth will be required to meet the indicative EU target of a 21 % share of renewable electricity in gross electricity consumption by 2010. For a detailed description of past and future trends in renewable energy, see EN30 and EN29.
The fuel mix for electricity production in the new EU Member States is rather different to the EU-15 due to historic and economic reasons. The traditional electricity industries in the region were originally vertically integrated monopolies controlled by central governments, resulting in a large share of coal/lignite and nuclear in the electricity production.
Overall, fuel switching within electricity production has made a benefit to the environment. However, this trend has slowed in recent years. A significant portion of these benefits has been counteracted by the rapid increase in overall final electricity consumption of about 31.4 % from 1990 to 2006 (see EN18) leading to an increase in overall electricity production of 34.9 % over the same period.
Projections:
All projections indicate a decrease in coal and lignite and oil. The largest relative decrease of coal and lignite is indicated by the GHG Reduction scenario from Poles and the Alternative Policy scenario's form the IEA. These scenarios also show a large increase in the relative nuclear energy consumption. The GHG reduction scenario focuses mainly on nuclear and natural gas, the Alternative policy scenario on renewables.
Total gross electricity generation covers gross electricity generation in all types of power plants. The gross electricity generation at the plant level is defined as the electricity measured at the outlet of the main transformers. i.e. the consumption of electricity in the plant auxiliaries and in transformers is included.
Electricity production by fuel is the gross electricity generation from plants utilising the following fuels: coal and lignite. oil. nuclear. natural and derived gas. renewables (wind. hydro. biomass and waste. solar PV and geothermal) and other fuels. The latter include electricity produced from power plants not accounted for elsewhere such as those fuelled by certain types of industrial wastes which are not classed as renewable. Other fuels also include the electricity produced as a result of pumping in hydro power stations.
The share of each fuel in electricity production is taken as the ratio of electricity production from the relevant category against total gross electricity generation. It should be noted that the share of renewable electricity in this indicator, based on production, is not directly comparable with the share required under Directive 2001/77/EC which is based upon the share of renewables in electricity consumption. The difference between both shares is accounted for by the net balance between imports and exports of electricity and by how much domestic electricity generation is increased or reduced as a result.
Electricity generation is measured in either GWh or TWh (1000 GWh)
Environmental context
The indicator shows the evolution of the shares of electricity production from different fuels in total gross electricity production and aims to indicate to what extent there has been a decarbonisation of the electricity production in Europe. Electricity production from fossil fuels (such as crude oil, oil products, hard coal, lignite and natural and derived gas) has a number of negative effects on the environment and human health , CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution levels (e.g. SO2 and NOX), water pollution and biodiversity loss. These effects are fuel-specific : for instance, 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 (see ENER26). There are other environmental pressures coming from energy production: air pollution, land –use changes and crop-escape (that could result in large scale introduction of invasive species) from biomass, surface and groundwater pollution, ecosystem services and biodiversity loss, etc. The pressure on the environment and human health from energy consumption can be diminished by decreasing energy consumption and switching to energy sources that have a lower impact on the environment and human health.
While nuclear power produces less greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric pollution over the life cycle compared to conventional sources, there is a risk of accidental radioactive releases, and highly radioactive waste (for which no generally acceptable disposal route has yet been established) is accumulating.
The efficiency with which electricity is produced also determines the scale of the environmental impacts of electricity production and consumption (see ENER19), as it determines the amount of input fuel required to generate a given quantity of electricity.
The impact also depends upon the total amount of electricity demanded and hence the level of electricity production required (see ENER18 for more details on electricity consumption). Thus another way of reducing energy-related pressures on the environment includes using less electricity on the demand-side, through improved efficiency, conservation or a combination of the two.
Policy context
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.
Energy 2020 – A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy (COM(2010) 639 final)
Presents the five priorities of the new energy strategy defined by the Commission.
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 (CARE) package includes the following main policy documents:
Second Strategic Energy Review; COM(2008) 781 final
Strategic review on short, medium and long term targets on EU energy security.
No targets have been specified
Average annual rate of growth calculated using: [(last year/base year) ^ (1/number of years) –1]*100
Share of electricity production by fuel calculated as ratio of electricity production by fuel type to total gross electricity generation.
The coding (used in the Eurostat database) for the gross electricity generation is :
Coal fired power stations:
Oil fired power stations:
Natural gas fired power stations:
Derived gas fired power stations
Biomass fired power stations
Solar
Pumped hydro
Nuclear
It should be noted that in the Eurostat database ‘Other fuels – 107012’ also includes ‘gross production from photovoltaic systems - 107023’ and although almost negligible in overall terms it has been subtracted from 107012 in the calculation of the indicator.
For the denominator, where required: total gross electricity generation 107000
Geographical coverage:
The Agency had 32 member countries at the time of writing of this fact sheet. These are the 27 European Union Member States and Turkey plus the EFTA countries (Iceland, Switzerland and Norway). Liechtenstein and Iceland are not anymore covered separately by Eurostat
Temporal coverage:
1990-2009
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
No methodology for gap filling has been specified. Probably this info has been added together with indicator calculation.
No methodology references available.
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 that from industry.
Also, electricity data (unlike that for overall energy consumption) for 1990 refers to the western part of Germany only.
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 electricity production by fuel. 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
Data has 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/electricity-production-by-fuel-1/electricity-production-by-fuel-assessment or scan the QR code.
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