This indicator is discontinued. No more assessments will be produced.
Key assessment: renewable energy in Gross Inland Energy Consumption (GIEC)
EU-wide developments
- Between 1990 and 2012, the share of renewables in gross inland energy consumption more than doubled in the EU28, increasing from 4.3% in 1990 to 11.0% in 2012 (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).
- The main contributors to the gross inland consumption of renewable energy were solid and gaseous biomass and renewable waste (58%), followed by hydro (16%), wind (10%), liquid biofuels (9%), solar PV (3%), geothermal (3%) and solar thermal (2%) (see Figure 2).
- Between 1990 and 2012, the consumption of renewable energy grew on average by 4.4%/year, with a somewhat faster pace (6.7%/year on average) observed from 2005 onward (see Figure 3). At the same time, gross inland energy consumption declined by 1.1%/year between 2005 and 2012 (see ENER 26), thus leading to a relative appreciation of the renewables share.
- Solar PV, solar thermal, liquid biofuels, and wind showed highest average annual growth rates between 2005 and 2012, of 73%/year, 25%/year, 23%/year and 17%/year, respectively (see Figure 3). The average growth rate for solid and gaseous biomass and renewable waste was 5%/year between 2005-2012 and the consumption of hydro energy increased by less than 1%/year over this period, whilst all renewables together grew at an average rate of 7%/year.
- The 2012 share of renewable energy in total gross inland energy consumption was 11.1% in the EU15. This is below the 12% indicative target for renewable energy for the EU15 for 2010, as mentioned in the now repealed Directive 2001/77/EC (see Figure 4).
Developments within EEA member countries
- There is a large variation among EU Member States as regards their share of renewable energy in gross inland energy consumption in 2012 (see Figure 4). Malta, Luxemburg, the UK and the Netherlands have each a share of below 5%, while Austria, Latvia, Sweden, Norway and Iceland exceed 30% (see Table). This reflects different physical possibilities to produce renewable energy in a competitive way, different starting points in the deployment of renewables in each country, and differences in policies to stimulate renewables.
- Since 2005, a number of countries realised an increase in the share of renewables in total gross inland energy consumption in excess of 5%-points: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Iceland. A decrease is observed in Turkey (related to decreasing use of traditional solid biomass such as charcoal by more efficient but non-renewable energy sources such as LPG[1]) and Norway (related to fluctuations in hydro). Slow progress, with an increase below 2%, is observed in Malta, the Netherlands and Luxemburg.
- In 2012, the bulk (61%) of the biomass and wastes consumption in the EU28 was concentrated in 6 countries: Germany (20%), France (11%), Sweden (10%), Finland (8%), Poland (7%) and Italy (7%) with wood and wood wastes accounting for the bulk of this consumption.
- In 2012, the bulk (66%) of the hydropower consumption in the EU28 was concentrated in 4 countries: Sweden (22%), France (18%), Austria (13%), and Italy (12%). The relative contribution of hydropower in renewable inland energy consumption has decreased since 1990 and it is not expected to increase significantly in the future, due to a lack of suitable sites.
- In 2012, the bulk (58%) of the wind energy consumption in the EU28 was concentrated in 3 countries: Germany (25%), Spain (24%), and the UK (10%).
- In 2012, the bulk (63%) of the consumption of liquid biofuel energy in the EU28 was concentrated in 4 countries: Germany (20%), France (17%), Spain (14%), and Italy (13%).
- In 2012, the bulk (79%) of the solar photovoltaic energy consumption in the EU28 was concentrated in 3 countries: Germany (39%), Italy (28%), and Spain (12%). Regarding solar thermal energy (concentrating solar power electricity as well as solar roof-top heat systems), 68% was produced in Spain (51%) and Germany (17%).
- In 2012, the bulk (87%) of the consumption of geothermal energy in the EU28 was concentrated in Italy.
- In non-EU EEA countries, the share of renewable in gross inland energy consumption reached 20% in 2012. Between 1990 and 2012, these non-EU EEA countries showed an increase of 39% in total renewable energy consumption. Given the rapid increase of the total gross inland energy consumption in these countries (+105%), mainly driven by Turkey, the share of renewable energy in GIEC decreased from 30% in 1990 to 20% in 2012.
[1] Demirbas A, 2008. Importance of biomass energy sources for Turkey, Energy Policy 36 (2008) 834–842.
Supporting information
Indicator definition
The share of renewable energy in gross inland consumption is the ratio between gross inland energy consumption from renewable sources and total gross inland energy consumption calculated for a calendar year, expressed as a percentage. Both renewable energy and gross inland 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.
Units
Both renewable energy and gross inland 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.
Policy context and targets
Context description
Environmental context
The share of renewable energy sources in gross inland energy consumption provides a broad indication of progress towards reducing the environmental impact of energy consumption as renewable energy generally has a lower environmental impact per unit of energy produced compared to energy obtained from conventional (especially fossil) sources. Increasing the share of renewables in energy consumption will help the EU to reduce not only its GHG and air pollutant emissions, but also its energy dependence, while the overall impact will depend on which energy sources are being replaced in the energy system as well as on curbing energy demand. Various other positive side-effects of renewables may occur, like recovery of fishing stocks in the vicinity of offshore wind parks.
Like for all energy resources, renewables may also have negative environmental impacts and need to be well selected and planned. Some types of biomass and biofuel crops have considerable land, water and agricultural input requirements such as fertilisers and pesticides. Hydro power plants can have adverse impacts such as flooding, disruption of ecosystems and hydrology, and socio-economic impacts if resettlement is required (for large hydro). Some solar photovoltaic technologies require relatively large quantities of heavy metals in their construction and geothermal energy can release polluting gases and formation water if not properly controlled. Wind turbines can have visual impacts in the areas in which they are sited. These diverse impacts can and should be avoided and minimised from the outset through project design and careful planning to ensure that the right technologies are deployed in the right locations. This calls for an appropriate “climate- and environment-proofing” of all energy projects, including renewables.
Policy context
- 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 CO2 emissions 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 GIEC.
- Directive on Waste; Directive 2006/12/EC.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
Policy target:
Two legally binding EU-wide targets for renewable energy have been defined in the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC: meeting a 20% share of renewables in gross final energy consumption by 2020, and increasing the share of renewables in transport to 10% by the same year. These targets are assessed in ENER28. In the now repealed Directive 2001/77/EC, an indicative target was to achieve by 2010 a 12% share of renewable energy in gross inland energy consumption (GIEC) in the EU-15.
Related policy documents
Methodology
Methodology for indicator calculation
Technical information
- 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
- Description of data / 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.
- Geographical coverage:
The Agency had 33 member countries at the time of writing of this fact sheet. These are the 28 European Union Member States and, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Data for World, United States, China, India, Russia, the Middle East and Africa.
- Temporal coverage: 1990-2012.
- 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:
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: Hydro power 5510 + Wind power 5520 + Solar thermal 5532 + Solar photovoltaic 5534 + Tide, Wave and Ocean 5535 + Solid biomass (excluding charcoal) 5541 + Biogas 5542 + Municipal waste (renewable) 55431 + Charcoal 5544 + Biogasoline 5546 + Biodiesel 5547+ Other liquid biofuels 5548 + Bio jet kerosene 5549 + Geothermal Energy 5550
Denominator: (total) gross energy inland consumption 100900
Average annual rate of growth calculated using: [(last year/base year) ^ (1/number of years) –1]*100
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’.
Qualitative information
- 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://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nomenclatures/index.cfm?TargetUrl=LST_NOM&StrGroupCode=LEX_MANUAL&StrLanguageCode=EN
- Reliability, accuracy, robustness, uncertainty (at data level):
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.
- Overall scoring (historical data)
Relevance: 1
Accuracy: 2
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
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 gross inland energy consumption for a particular country. If gross inland energy consumption decreases, 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.
Data sets uncertainty
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://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nomenclatures/index.cfm?TargetUrl=LST_NOM&StrGroupCode=LEX_MANUAL&StrLanguageCode=EN
Rationale uncertainty
No uncertainty has been specified
Data sources
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