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Indicator Assessment
The share of renewable energy sources in primary energy consumption increased slowly in the EU-27 from 4.4 % in 1990 to 6.7 % in 2005. This has helped reducing otherwise higher greenhouse gas emissions. However, rising overall energy consumption in absolute terms has counteracted some of the environmental benefits from the higher use of renewables. The strongest increase came from wind and solar energy. In absolute terms, about 80 % of the increase was accounted for by biomass. Significant growth will be needed to meet the indicative target of a 12 % share of renewable energies in 'primary' energy consumption in the EU by 2010. * The European Council of 8-9 March 2007 endorsed a binding target of a 20 % share of renewable energies in 'final' energy consumption by 2020. The renewables share in final energy consumption was about 8.5 % in 2005. A new indicator on 'renewable final energy consumption' will be developed during 2008 to monitor progress towards this new target.
Contribution of renewable energy sources to primary energy consumption in the EU-27, 1990-2005
Note: N/A
European Environment Agency and Eurostat
Share of renewable energy in primary energy consumption (%) 1990-2005
Note: The shares of renewable energy in primary energy consumption in Latvia have been recalculated due to a revision of the energy balance input data
European Environment Agency and Eurostat
The contribution of renewable energy sources to primary energy consumption increased in the EU-27 from 4.4 % in 1990 to 6.7 % in 2005, up by 0.3 percentage points from the share in 2004. This is still substantially short of the indicative target set in the White Paper on renewable energy (COM(97) 599 final) to derive 12 % of total primary energy consumption in the EU from renewable sources by 2010. More recently, the European Commission launched a comprehensive 'energy package' (10/01/2007). As a result, the European Council of 8-9 March 2007 endorsed a binding target of a 20 % share of renewable energies in overall EU energy consumption by 2020 http://europa.eu/european_council/conclusions/index_en.htm Furthermore, in January 2008 the European Commission put forth an integrated proposal for 'climate action', including a proposal for a Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources with country-specific targets by 2020. The new renewable energy target refers to final energy consumption and not to primary energy consumption. The renewables share in final energy consumption for the EU was about 8.5 % in 2005. This new target will be dealt with in a new indicator to be developed during 2008.
Biomass and waste is the largest renewable energy source (2/3 of the total) and was responsible for the majority of the absolute growth in renewables during the period 1990-2005, with an increase of about 69 % in the EU-27. Only the biodegradable part of municipal solid waste should be seen as renewable. 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. However, increased use must be balanced against potentially increased environmental pressures on biodiversity, soil and water resources. Latvia, Finland, and Sweden have particularly high shares of biomass and waste in total primary energy consumption.
Consumption of hydropower has increased by about 5 % over the period 1990-2005. However, hydropower production has been falling in the past years as a result of lower rainfall to reach a share of 22 % of renewable energy consumption and of 1.5 % of total primary energy consumption in the EU-27 in 2005. Energy consumption from hydropower is not expected to increase significantly 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 greater emphasis on the protection of the environment, and due to the obligation to prevent any further deterioration it is likely that the construction of new hydro-power plants will become more difficult.
Between 1990 and 2005, wind energy in the EU-27 grew by a factor of 90; and only in the last year increased by 20 %. This was largely due to strong growth in Spain and Germany, which together account for more than 2/3 of all the EU's wind production. Wind power is a fast-growing energy source worldwide, and this trend is expected to be reflected throughout the EU-27, as technological development both on- and offshore, combined with national renewable energy promotion policies lead to the introduction of wind power in all Member States. In 2005 however, output still accounts for a small (around 0.3 %) proportion of total primary energy consumption and 5 % of renewable energy consumption.
Geothermal power-production increased by 69 % in the EU between 1990 and 2005. The use of geothermal schemes depends on the quality (temperature and density) of the heat available. Relatively low quality heat is used as an input to district heating schemes and some industrial processes, and higher quality heat can be used to produce steam for electricity production in turbines. Geothermal energy contributed only 4 % to renewable energy consumption (and 0.3 % of primary total energy consumption) in the EU-27 in 2005, with Italy accounting for around 90 % of this. There is still significant potential to exploit geothermal heat, particularly in the form of heat pump technology (IEA, 2004).
Between 1990 and 2005 in the EU-27, solar energy grew by around a factor of five. In the last year alone, it grew by almost 20 %. 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. In most Member States solar energy comes from solar thermal energy, rather than electricity generated using photovoltaic (PV) cells. At present 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). The proportion of solar energy in renewable energy amounted to 0.7 % (only half a percentage of primary total energy consumption) in 2005.
Despite growing subsidies and programmes, and support for renewables in individual Member States, the observed growth rates in renewable energy consumption are not sufficient if the indicative target of a 12 % share in 2010 is to be met.
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
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.
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 the GHG 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 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.
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 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:
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)
PRIMES 2009: Primary energy demand Biomass and waste (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
No gap filling necessary.
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 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
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/renewable-primary-energy-consumption/renewable-primary-energy-consumption-assessment-3 or scan the QR code.
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