Electricity from renewable sources on the rise
Electricity from renewable sources on the rise
In absolute terms, the production of electricity from renewable energy sources increased by almost 5% from 2020 to 2021. However, also gross electricity consumption increased mainly due to economic recovery after lifting COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, the share of renewable energy sources in gross electricity consumption in the EU only increased by 0.1 percentage points (pp), from 37.4% in 2020 to 37.5% in 2021.
Wind and hydropower accounted for over two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources (37% and 32%, respectively). The remaining one-third of electricity came from solar power (15%), solid biofuels (7%) and other renewable sources (8%). Solar power is the fastest-growing source; in 2008, it only accounted for 1% of the electricity consumed in the EU.