The share of renewable energy across the EU’s generation mix has almost doubled over the past decade, from 5.4 per cent to nine per cent between 1999 and 2009, according to new EU Statistics released on 11/4/2011.
The figures, produced by Eurostat at the start of EU sustainable energy week, also show that the proportion of energy provided by oil, solid fuel and nuclear all fell over the same period. All 27 member states bar Malta increased their share of renewable energy over the period, the largest increases coming from Denmark, where the renewable sector grew from meeting eight per cent of energy demand to 17 per cent by 2009.Sweden similarly saw its share of renewable energy rise from 27 per cent to 34 per cent, while Germany’s renewables sector quadrupled in size from two per cent to eight per cent of total energy capacity. The UK’s share rose from 0.9 per cent in 1999 to three per cent in 2009, still well short of its target of 15 per cent by 2020.