Indicator Assessment

Renewable primary energy consumption

Indicator Assessment

Prod-ID: IND-17-en

Also known as: CSI 030 , ENER 029

Published 14 Sep 2010 Last modified 11 May 2021

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Topics: Energy

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The share of renewable energy sources in gross inland energy consumption (GEIC) increased in the EU-27 from 4.4% in 1990 to 7.8% in 2007. The strongest increase came from wind (more than one hundred thirty-fold) and solar energy (eightfold). In absolute terms, biomass accounted for 79.2 % of the increase and wind for 13.1 %. Because the gross inland energy consumption of the EU-27 increased by 8.7% between 1990 and 2007, some of the environmental benefits (e.g. reductions in GHG emissions and air pollution) brought about by an increased share of renewable energy sources were offset. In 2007, the share of renewable energy in total gross inland consumption in EU-15 was 8%, hence a significant effort will be needed to meet the indicative target of 12 % share of renewables by 2010.

Contribution of renewable energy sources to primary energy consumption in the EU-27

Note: Contribution of renewable energy sources to primary energy consumption in the EU-27

Data source:

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - all products - annual data.

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - renewables and wastes (total, solar heat, biomass, geothermal, wastes) - annual data.

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - renewables (hydro, wind, photovoltaic) - annual data.

Tables available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database

Downloads and more info

Total primary energy consumption by energy source in 2007, EU-27

Note: Total primary energy consumption by energy source in 2007, EU-27

Data source:

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - all products - annual data.

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - renewables and wastes (total, solar heat, biomass, geothermal, wastes) - annual data.

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - renewables (hydro, wind, photovoltaic) - annual data.

Tables available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database

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Annual average growth rates in renewable energy consumption (%), EU-27

Note: Annual average growth rates in renewable energy consumption (%), EU-27

Data source:

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - all products - annual data.

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - renewables and wastes (total, solar heat, biomass, geothermal, wastes) - annual data.

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption - renewables (hydro, wind, photovoltaic) - annual data.

Tables available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/data/database

Downloads and more info

The contribution of renewable energy sources to gross energy inland consumption (GEIC) increased in the EU-27 from 4.4 % in 1990 to 7.8 % in 2007. For the EU-15, in 2007, the share of renewables in total gross inland consumption in these countries accounted for 8%, falling substantially short of the indicative target set in the White Paper on renewable energy (COM(97) 599 final) of 12 % by 2010 (see Figures 1,2,3).
Between 1990 and 2007 the average annual growth rate of total renewable energy consumption in EU-27 was 3.9 %. Wind and solar PV showed very high growth rates of respectively 33.4% and 43.5 % followed by solar thermal with 11.4%. Between 2006 and 2007, the annual growth rate of renewables was more than double the average: 8.6 % (see Figure 3).
The non-EU EEA countries[1] showed an increase of 19.1 % in total renewable energy consumption between 1990 and 2007 compared with 93.0% in EU-27 over the same period. The significant lower penetration rate of renewables in these countries can be explained by the much higher increase in gross energy inland consumption (59.1% compared to 8.7% in EU-27), which led to a decrease in the share of renewable energy in GIEC from 25.7 % in 1990 to 19.2 % in 2007. Almost 2/3 of the renewable energy consumption was hydropower, followed by biomass and waste. Together they account for approximately 85% of the renewable energy consumption in non-EU EEA countries.
In 2007, globally, the share of renewables in total energy consumption was 12.6 % (compared with the EEA region 8.7%). Combustible renewables and waste accounted for 78 % of the total renewable energy, followed by hydro (17 %). The high share in Africa (77.6 %) is mostly due to the use of wood for example for burning in cooking stoves (combustible renewables are 97 % of the total renewables). In Russia and the Middle East, the share of hydropower is the largest (see Table 1).

[1] Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey

In 2007, renewable energy from biomass and waste accounted for the largest share in total renewable energy (69.8 %) and the largest in GEIC (5.4%). This category represented 79.2 % of the absolute growth in renewables during the period 1990-2007. Between 1990 and 2007, the share of renewable energy from biomass and waste increased by 120.7 % in the EU-27, at an average annual growth of 4.8 %. Biomass and waste can be used to produce electricity and heat and biofuels for transport. It is also seen as one of the main areas for future growth in renewable energy (see Figures 1,2,3).
Between 2006 and 2007 the total amount of biomass and waste increased by 9.7 %, more than double the average annual growth rate for this category.

• Hydropower consumption increased by 6.2 % over the period 1990-2007 at an average annual growth rate of 0.4 %. Hydropower production has fluctuated substantially in recent years as a result of changing rainfall patterns. In 2007, the share of hydropower in total renewable energy was 18.9 % and 1.5 % of GEIC in the EU-27. Energy consumption from hydropower is not expected to increase significantly in the future due to environmental concerns and a lack of suitable sites, particularly within the EU-15. For example, the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) places a strong emphasis on achieving a good environmental status of European rivers, hence future construction of new hydro-power plants (particularly small-scale hydro) will need to take these constraints into account (see Figures 1 and 3). • Between 2006 and 2007 the total hydropower consumed increase by 0.3%.

Between 1990 and 2007, wind energy in the EU-27 grew by a factor of 134 at an annual growth rate of 33.4 %. This development was largely due to strong growth in Spain and Germany, which together accounted for 64.5 % of all the EU-27 wind production in 2007. Wind power is a fast-growing energy source worldwide, and this trend is expected to continue throughout the EU-27, particularly as offshore developments take off. At present however, wind energy accounts for only 0.5 % of EU-27 GEIC and 6.4 % of renewable energy consumption in the EU-27 (see Figures 1 and 3).
From 2006 to 2007, consumption from wind energy increased by 26.7 %, slightly less than average over the 17 years period but more than in the preceding years (20 % in 2004-2005 and 17 % in 2005-2006).

• Between 1990 and 2007, renewable energy from solar (both PV and solar thermal) in the EU-27 grew by a factor of 8.4 at an average annual growth rate of 13.3 %. Solar thermal energy developments in Austria, Germany and Greece benefited greatly from proactive government policy coupled with subsidy schemes and communication strategies that emphasised the benefits of solar thermal. In 2006, Spain passed a law making solar panels compulsory in new and renovated buildings (this resulted in a 65.1 % annual increase in 2007, compared to 27.7 % in 2006). In most Member States solar energy comes from solar thermal energy, rather than electricity generated using photovoltaic (PV) cells. At present the use of PV cells is limited due to relatively high production and installation costs, but represent a medium- to long-term opportunity as costs are beginning to fall (JRC, 2004). Solar energy accounted for 0.9 % of total renewable energy consumption and only 0.1 % of GEIC in 2007 (see Figures 1 and 3). • Between 2006 and 2007 solar energy grew by 28.3 %, a much slower pace than preceding years

- Between 1990 and 2007, the consumption of geothermal energy (both electricity and heat) increased by 80.9 % in the EU-27, at an average annual growth of 3.5 %. The use of geothermal schemes depends on the quality (temperature and density) of the heat available. Geothermal energy contributed only 4.1 % to renewable energy consumption and 0.3 % of GEIC in the EU-27 in 2007, with Italy accounting for around 89 % of the total amount of consumed geothermal energy. There is still significant potential to exploit geothermal heat, particularly in the form of heat pump technology for space heating (IEA, 2004) (see Figures 1 and 3).
- Between 2006 and 2007 geothermal energy grew by 3.5 %, the same as the annual average over 1990 to 2007.

Supporting information

Indicator definition

The share of renewable energy consumption is the ratio between gross inland energy consumption from renewable sources (TOE) and total gross inland energy consumption (TOE) calculated for a calendar year, expressed as a percentage. Both renewable energy and total energy consumption are measured in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe).

Renewable energy sources are defined as renewable non-fossil sources: wind, solar, geothermal, wave, tidal, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases.
Projections are for 2020-2030 from the POLES (IPTS) Baseline and GHG Reduction Scenario (Mitigation), from PRIMES 2009 Baseline and Reference scenarios and from the WEO 2009 (IEA) Reference and 450 Scenario

Units

Both, renewable energy and total primary energy consumption are measured in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). Therefore, the amount of renewable energy is measured in absolute value, but will be presented in the form of a percentage.

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

Renewable energies are generally considered more environmentally benign than fossil fuels, particularly with regard to emissions of greenhouse gases. Therefore, the share of energy consumption from renewable energy can provide a broad indication of progress towards reducing the environmental impact of energy consumption and production. Nevertheless, its overall impact has to be seen within the context of growth in energy use and other potential impacts on environment (e.g. biodiversity)

This indicator is closely related to indicator ENER28, “renewable energy in final energy consumption”

Scientific references

IEA, 2004 International Energy Agency Geothermal Energy Annual Report 2004
JRC, 2004. PV Status Report 2004 Research, Solar Cell Production and Market Implementation of Photovoltaics, European Commission Joint Research Centre.
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
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
EU (2009) Climate action and renewable energy package (CARE Package)
IEA WEO 2009 – Executive summary
IEA (2009), World Energy Outlook 2009, Paris (with additional data supplied from IEA)
IPTS POLES 2009 IPTS (2009) , Russ P., Ciscar J. C., Saveyn B., Soria A., Szábó L., Van Ierland T., Van Regemorter D., Virdis R.: Economic Assessment of Post-2012 Global Climate Policies: Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Scenarios with the POLES and GEM-E3 models, IPTS, 2009, EUR 23768 EN - 2009
EC PRIMES 2009 – PRIMES scenarios for the European Commission
EurObserv’er (2011) Photovoltaic barometer.

Policy context and targets

Context description

Environmental context

The share of electricity consumption from renewable energy sources provides a broad indication of progress towards reducing the environmental impact of electricity consumption on the environment as renewable electricity is generally considered to have lower life-cycle environmental impact per unit of electricity produced than fossil-fuelled power plants. Increasing the share of renewables in electricity consumption will help the EU to reduce theGHG emissions from power generation but the overall impact will depend on which generation sources are being replaced in the energy system.

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 (MSW), which due to high costs of separation, usually involves the combustion of some mixed wastes including materials contaminated with heavy metals. Emissions to the atmosphere from MSW incineration are subject to stringent regulations including tight controls on emissions of cadmium, mercury, and other such substances.

The exploitation of renewable energy sources may have negative impacts on landscapes, habitats and ecosystems, although many impacts can be minimised through careful site selection. Hydropower schemes in particular 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 impacts on the areas in which they are sited. Some types of biomass and biofuel crops have considerable land, water and agricultural input requirements such as fertilisers and pesticides.

Policy context

For the EU-15, the share of renewables in total gross inland energy consumption accounted for 9%, in 2009, falling substantially short of the indicative target set in the White Paper on renewable energy (COM(97) 599 final) of 12 % by 2010 (see Figures 1,2,3).

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:

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/ EC of the European parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide
Directive 2009/28/ EC of the European parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
Community guidelines on state aid for environmental protection (2008/c 82/01)
Directive 2008/101/ EC of 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 CO₂emissions from light-duty vehicles

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.

Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-plan); COM(2007) 723. Focuses on increasing the competitiveness of new renewable energy technologies. It aims at identifying technologies that require better coordination of Member State policies or the development of public-private partnerships with the industry.

White Paper: Energy for the future - renewable sources of energy; COM(97) 599 final. Sets a target for the EU-15 countries for a share of 12 % RE in GEIC.

Directive on Waste; Directive 2006/12/EC. it requires all EU Member States to take the necessary measures to ensure that waste is treated and disposed of correctly, sets targets for re-use and recycling, and requires Member States to draw up binding national programmes for waste prevention.

Targets

The European Commission published a White Paper in 1997 (COM(97) 599 final) setting out a Community strategy for achieving a 12% share of renewables in total gross inland energy consumption (GIEC) in the EU-15 by 2010. The decision was motivated by concerns about security of supply and environmental protection. The contribution of renewable energy sources to GEIC in EU-15 was 8.6 % in 2008, falling significantly short of the 12% indicative target (see Figure 4 and Table 1).

The 12% target was adopted in a 2001 directive on the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources, which also included a 22.1% target for electricity for the EU-15. As can be seen in Figure 4 already five countries reached their target (Sweden, Austria, Finland, Portugal and Denmark). The other ten are still significantly below the target, especially the UK, Luxembourg, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Greece.

In January 2007, the Commission published a Renewable Energy Roadmap outlining a long-term strategy. It called for a mandatory target of a 20% share of renewable energies in the EU's energy mix by 2020. The target was endorsed by EU leaders in March 2007. To achieve this objective, the EU adopted a new Renewables Directive in April 2009 (2009/28/EC), which set individual targets for each member state.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

Methodology and frequency of data collection

Data collected annually.
Eurostat definitions and concepts for energy statistics http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/coded/info/data/coded/en/Theme9.htm

Methodology of data manipulation

Renewable energy consumption is the ratio between the gross inland energy consumption from renewable sources and the total gross inland energy consumption calculated for a calendar year.
The coding (used in the Eurostat New Cronos database) and specific components of the indicator are:

Numerator: solar energy 5530 gross inland energy consumption 100900 + biomass and waste 5540 gross inland consumption 100900 + geothermal energy 5550 energy inland consumption 100900 + hydropower 5510 gross inland energy consumption 100900 + wind energy 5520 gross inland energy consumption 100900.
Denominator: (total) gross energy inland consumption 100900

Average annual rate of growth calculated using: [(last year/base year) ^ (1/number of years) –1]*100

Solar-thermal: 100900 Gross inland energy consumption (5530 solar energy) – 100100 Primary production (5534 Photovoltaic power)

IEA data:
Report ‘Energy balances Non-OECD countries’ and ‘Energy balances OECD countries’, table ‘Energy balances (ktoe)’, products ‘Hydro’, ‘Geothermal’, ‘Solar/Wind/Other’, ‘Combustible renewables and waste’ and ‘Total’, flow ‘Total Primary Energy Supply’.

Projections:
POLES IPTS 2009: Gross inland energy consumption Other (EJ)/Gross inland consumption Total (EJ)
WEO 2009: Primary energy demand Biomass and waste (Mtoe)/Total primary energy demand (Mtoe)

Primary energy demand Hydro (Mtoe)/Total primary energy demand (Mtoe)
Primary energy demand Other renewables (Mtoe)/Total primary energy demand (Mtoe)

PRIMES 2009: Primary energy demand Biomass and waste (Mtoe)/Total primary energy demand (Mtoe)

Primary energy demand Hydro (Mtoe)/Total primary energy demand (Mtoe)
Primary energy demand Wind (Mtoe)/Total primary energy demand (Mtoe)
Primary energy demand Other renewables [solar & others, geothermal ] (Mtoe)/Total primary energy demand (Mtoe)

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 Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. No energy data available for Iceland in 2007-2009 (Iceland do not appear in the graphs or tables).
Data for World, United States, China, India, Russia, the Middle East and Africa

Temporal coverage
1990-2009, projections 2020-2030

Data source

Eurostat (historic data), http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/
Renewable energy consumption is one of the European Environment Agency’s core-set indicators. More information can be found at http://themes.eea.eu.int/IMS/CSI.
IEA Data Services, http://data.iea.org/IEASTORE/DEFAULT.ASP

Methodology for gap filling

No gap filling necessary.

Methodology references

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

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 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 2010 target for the share of renewable energy does not necessarily imply that CO₂ emissions from energy consumption will fall.

Data sets uncertainty

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_sm1.htm See also information related to the Energy Statistics Regulation http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id=5431232

Rationale uncertainty

Data sources

Energy statistics (Eurostat)
provided by Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat)
Total primary energy supply by product: (IEA)
provided by

Other info

DPSIR: Response
Typology: Performance indicator (Type B - Does it matter?)

Indicator codes

CSI 030
ENER 029

Frequency of updates

Updates are scheduled once per year

EEA Contact Info info@eea.europa.eu

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Older versions

28 Apr 2008 - Renewable primary energy consumption

22 May 2007 - EN29 Renewable Energy

23 Mar 2007 - Renewable primary energy consumption

12 Apr 2006 - Renewable primary energy consumption

27 Sep 2005 - Renewable primary energy consumption

Geographic coverage

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