Electricity use from renewables second lowest in EU

Renewable energy sources were 37% of gross electricity consumption in the EU, but Cyprus had the second-lowest share in the bloc with only 12%.

The EU average in 2020 went up from 34% in 2019, according to Eurostat data.

Cyprus is almost bottom of the list of EU member states, with only 12% of its gross electricity consumption coming from renewable energy sources in 2020, increasing from 10% in 2019 and 9% in 2018.

The share was only marginally above 0% when Cyprus entered the EU in 2004.

It passed above the 1% mark in 2010 and has been steadily increasing since, to 3% in 2011, 5% in 2012, almost 7% in 2013 and 2014, 8% in 2015 and around 9% between 2016-2018.

More than 70% of electricity consumed in 2020 was generated from renewable sources in Austria (78%) and Sweden (75%).

The generation of electricity from renewable sources was also high and accounted for more than half of the electricity consumed in Denmark (65%), Portugal (58%), Croatia and Latvia (both 53%).

At the other end of the scale, the share of electricity from renewable sources was 15% or less in Malta (10%), Hungary and Cyprus (both 12%), Luxembourg (14%) and Czechia (15%).

Wind and hydropower accounted for over two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources (36% and 33%, respectively).

The remaining one-third of electricity came from solar power (14%), solid biofuels (8%) 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.