In 2023, renewable energy sources supplied a record 45.3% of the European Union’s total electricity consumption, marking a significant 4.1% increase from the previous year. This represents the highest annual growth in renewable energy’s share since data collection began in 2004.
Previously, the largest annual increases were recorded in 2022 (3.5%) and 2020 (3.3%). Wind power played the most significant role in renewable electricity generation, accounting for 38.5%, followed by hydropower at 28.2%. Together, these two sources made up over two-thirds of the EU’s renewable electricity. Solar power ranked third with a 20.5% share, while solid biofuels contributed 6.2%, according to Eurostat.
Solar energy has been the fastest-growing segment. In 2008, solar power generation was just 7.4 TWh, making up only 1% of total electricity production. By 2023, this figure had skyrocketed to 252.1 TWh.
Data also show that in three EU countries, renewable energy accounted for more than 75% of electricity consumption. Austria led the way with 87.8%, followed closely by Sweden at 87.5% and Denmark at 79.4%.
Croatia was among the top five countries where renewables exceeded 50% of electricity consumption, primarily due to its reliance on hydropower. The other four countries in this category were Portugal (63%), Spain (56.9%), Latvia (54.3%), and Finland (52.4%).
At the lower end of the ranking, where renewables contributed less than 20% of electricity consumption, were Malta (10.7%), the Czech Republic (16.4%), Luxembourg (18%), and Hungary (19.5%).
