Indicator Assessment

Renewable primary energy consumption

Indicator Assessment

Prod-ID: IND-17-en

Also known as: CSI 030 , ENER 029

Published 30 Apr 2012 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 (GIEC) increased in the EU-27 from 4.2% in 1990 to 9% in 2009. The main contributor is biomass and wastes (6.1% of the GIEC in 2009), followed by hydro (1.7%) and wind (0.7%). The gross inland energy consumption from renewable increased by 4.1%/year on average over the period 1990-2009 and by 7.1%/year from 2005 to 2009 (+5.8% in 2009). Despite the decrease of the gross energy inland consumption during the last years, the share of renewable continues to grow.

In 2009, the share of renewable energy in total gross inland energy consumption in EU-15 was 9%, hence a significant effort will be needed to meet the indicative target of 12 % share of renewables by 2010.

In non EU EEA countries the share of renewable in gross inland energy consumption reached 19.7% in 2009. The gross inland energy consumption increased by 2.5%/year since 1990, of which 1.1%/year for the renewable consumption. For the most recent years the gross inland energy consumption increased by 3%/year, of which 1.6%/year for the renewable consumption

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 2010. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption, annual data:

All products
Renewables and wastes (total, solar heat, biomass, geothermal, wastes)
Rrenewables (hydro, wind, photovoltaic)
Renewables (hydro, wind, photovoltaic)

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 2009, EU-27

Note: Total primary energy consumption by energy source in 2009, EU-27

Data source:

Eurostat 2010. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption:

all products - annual data.
renewables and wastes (total, solar heat, biomass, geothermal, wastes) - annual data.
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

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

Note: The figure shows the annual average growth rates in renewable energy consumption (%), EU-27

Data source:

Eurostat. Energy statistics: Supply, transformation, consumption

all products - annual data.
renewables and wastes (total, solar heat, biomass, geothermal, wastes) - annual data.
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

renewable energy in GEIC

The contribution of renewable energy sources to gross inland energy consumption (GIEC) increased in the EU-27 from 4.2 % in 1990 to 9 % in 2009. Between 1990 and 2009 the total renewable energy consumption more than doubled in the EU-27 (+116% corresponding to an average growth rate of 4.1 %/year). Wind and solar PV showed very high annual growth rates between 1990 and 2009 of 31% and 45.3 %respectively, followed by solar thermal with 12.3%.
The fastest progression in the share of renewables in total gross inland energy consumption since 2005 was mainly observed in countries such as Austria (+6.5 percentage points), Sweden (+5.8 percentage points), Germany (+3.6 percentage points) and Spain (+3.5 percentage points) (Table 1).
Between 1990 and 2009, the non-EU EEA countries[1] showed an increase of 23 % in total renewable energy consumption (annual average growth rate of 1.1%/year). Given the rapid progression of the total gross inland energy consumption in these countries (+60%), mainly driven by Turkey, the share of renewable energy in GIEC decreased from 25.7 % in 1990 to 19.7 % in 2009. Around 55% of the renewable energy consumption is hydropower, followed by biomass and waste, which account for approximately 23% of the renewable energy consumption in non-EU EEA countries, and geothermal with 19% (2009).

[1] Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey

renewable energy from biomass and waste in GEIC

In 2009, renewable energy from biomass and waste accounted for the largest share in total renewable energy (around 70 %) and the largest in GEIC (6.1%). Between 2005 and 2009, the share of renewable energy from biomass and waste increased by 35 % in the EU-27, at an average annual growth of 7.8 %. Wood and wastes represented the bulk of biomass and wastes consumption in the EU-27 with 71% of the total in 2009, followed by municipal wastes with 13% and biofuels and biogas with 8%.

renewable energy from hydro in GEIC

In EU 27 as a whole, hydropower consumption increased by 7% over the period 2005-2009 at an average annual growth rate of 1.8 %. Hydropower production has fluctuated substantially in recent years as a result of changing rainfall patterns. In 2009, the share of hydropower was 18.5 % of total renewable energy and 1.7 % 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. 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).
In 2009, hydropower was mainly produced in 4 countries in the EU-27: Sweden (20% in 2009), France (17%), Italy (15%) and Austria (12%). In non EU EEA countries Norway is the main hydro producer.

renewable energy from wind in GEIC

Between 2005 and 2009, wind energy in the EU-27 grew by 89% at an annual growth rate of 17.2 %. This development was largely due to strong growth in Spain and Germany, which together accounted for more than 60 % of all the EU-27 wind production in 2009 (respectively 28.4% and 29.1%). Wind power is a fast-growing energy source, 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 0.7 % of EU-27 GEIC and 7.5 % of renewable energy consumption in the EU-27 in 2009 (see Figures 1 and 3).

renewable energy from solar in GEIC

Between 2005 and 2009, renewable energy from solar (both PV and solar thermal) in the EU-27 was multiplied by a factor 3, at an average annual growth rate of 32 %. 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 [1]: this resulted in very strong progression from 2006 to 2009 (28% in 2006, 65% in 2007, 157 % increase in 2008 and 93% in 2009). Almost 70% of the solar output in 2009 came from two countries, Germany with 40% and Spain with 28%; these countries are followed by Greece (8%) and Italy (6%). In most Member States solar energy comes from solar thermal energy, rather than electricity generated from photovoltaic cells (PV). 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). In 2010, Spain had the largest photovoltaic power station in the world (60 MWp Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park), which was completed in 2008. Germany is on the top of installed capacity with 17,370 MW (almost two thirds of the whole EU-27 capacity) and also for installed capacity per capita with 212 W[2]. Solar energy accounted for 1.6 % of total renewable energy consumption and only 0.1 % of GEIC in 2009 (see Figures 1 and 3).

[1] Approved in March 2006, through Royal Decree 314/2006 of 17 March 2006, requires all new or renovated buildings to cover 30%-70% of the domestic hot water demand with solar thermal energy.

[2] Photovoltaic energy barometer 2011 – EurObserv’ER

renewable energy from geothermal in GEIC

Between 2005 and 2009, the consumption of geothermal energy (both electricity and heat) increased by 9 % in the EU-27, at an average annual growth of 2.2 %. The use of geothermal schemes depends on the quality (temperature and density) of the heat available. Geothermal energy contributed only 3.8 % to renewable energy consumption and 0.3 % of GEIC in the EU-27 in 2009, with Italy accounting for around 82 % of the total amount of consumed geothermal energy (see Figures 1 and 3).

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

10 Aug 2011 - Renewable primary energy consumption

14 Sep 2010 - Renewable primary energy consumption

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

Austria Belgium Bulgaria China Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland India Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United States Africa Earth Middle East