Eurostat reveals EU's 2020 renewable energy figures
In 2009, the European Union (EU) set a goal of reaching 20 percent renewables in gross final energy consumption – Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. Renewable energy figures published today by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, reveal how the EU and individual Member States fared in fulfilling their national targets as outlined in the Directive.
According to Eurostat, at the EU level, the bloc “overachieved” – the share of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources reached 22.1 percent in 2020, 2.1 percentage points (pp) above the target level for 2020, and over double compared with 9.6 percent in 2004.
This Eurostat says is a “major achievement” and an important milestone in the EU’s path towards climate neutrality by 2050.
The said Directive also defines legally binding national 2020 targets, which were set taking into account the starting point and overall potential for renewables in each country.
When looking at the national targets, the results may surprise – 26 Member States met or exceeded their national targets for 2020. Only France fell short of its national target (-3.9 pp).
Statistical transfers
The seemingly remarkable catching up by some Member States during 2020 is down to statistical transfers whereby a specified amount of energy from renewable sources from one Member State is deducted and transferred to another Member State “at a certain price”.
It is one of the cooperation mechanisms recognized by the Directive. Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, and Slovenia all availed of this option to make up their respective national target shortfalls while Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, and Lithuania obliged.
In absolute energy terms, the Netherlands acquired 1 173.7 ktoe (from Denmark) which is almost 62 percent of the total amount of transferred renewable energy. Indeed, Denmark accounted for over 74 percent (1 414.5 ktoe) of the total transferred energy.
Eurostat notes too that Poland revised its data on the final energy consumption of solid biomass. As a consequence, the share of renewables increased by more than 3 percentage points enabling Poland to achieve its national target.
The Member States that significantly exceeded their 2020 targets were Sweden, Croatia (both +11 pp), and Bulgaria (+7 pp). With more than half of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources, Sweden (60%) had by far the highest share among the EU Member States in 2020, ahead of Finland (44%), and Latvia (42%) respectively.
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest proportions of renewables were registered in Malta (11%), followed by Luxembourg (12%) and Belgium (13%), all of which availed of statistical transfers.