Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, has released its figures for renewable energy use across the EU27 – the 27 EU states – for the calendar year 2011. Of all energy use across the EU27, 13% came from renewable sources compared to just 7.9% in 2004 and 12.1% in 2010, well on its way to a target of 20% in 2020.
Looking at the countries individually, the top renewable energy users were Sweden (46.8%), Latvia (33.1%), Finland (31.8%) and Austria (30.9%), and the lowest were the tiny states of Malta (0.4%), Luxembourg (2.9%), followed by the United Kingdom (3.8%), Belgium (4.1%).
Between 2004 and 2011, the countries with the biggest gains in renewables usage were Sweden (38.3% to 46.8%), Denmark (14.9% to 23.1%), Austria (22.8% to 30.9%), and Germany (from 4.8% to 12.3%); while the UK went from 1.1% to 3.8% in the same time period. The EU target for the UK is 15% by 2020.
Click here for full details in the Eurostat 26th April 2013 press release: Share of Renewable Energy up to 13% of Energy Consumption in the EU27 in 2011.