Energy mix
What this section is about
This section shows the declining but still very dominant role of fossil fuels in the European energy mix, alongside impressive growth of renewables. The graphs show the proportion of different energy sources in gross inland energy consumption for the EU-28 and individual Member States since 1990.
The data shows that oil has been Europe’s most widely used fuel since 1990. Gas took over second place from coal in 1996. The share of gas in the EU energy mix has grown by close to a third since 1990 (staying stable at around a quarter of the energy mix for the last 15 years), while that for coal has dropped by close to half (to just 15% in 2016).
The big winner is renewable energy, which tripled its share of the energy mix to 13.2% in 2016. To illustrate the spectacular achievements of individual countries, Spain doubled the share of renewables in its energy mix from 1990 to 2016, Italy quadrupled it and Germany grew it by no less than eight times. Some countries have more renewables than you might think, such as Latvia (over a third, due to hydropower). Europe has almost reached its 20% renewables target for 2020.
Individual countries have very different energy mixes, which makes a pan-European energy policy challenging. Germany, famous for its renewables, was still powered for a quarter by coal and lignite in 2016. Indeed, it consumed nearly a third of all the coal and lignite in Europe – a higher share even than in 1990. Poland has cut back the share of coal in its energy mix from over three-quarters in 1990 to about half today.
Note that, overall, EU energy consumption in 2016 was 1.7% below 1990 levels.
Key questions
How far can the European Commission take the European Energy Union if energy mixes are so different and remain a national competence? To what extent is EU climate policy shaping Europe’s energy mix? How will the Commission’s 2016 Clean Energy Package affect national energy mixes? What is the influence of DG Competition decisions on state aid and capacity markets? How can the EU help ensure a “just" transition away from coal?
How the data is displayed
Vertical Y axis: Million tonnes of oil equivalent Mtoe)
Horizontal X axis: Time (years)
The tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is a conventional standardised unit for measuring energy, defined on the basis of a tonne of oil with a net calorific value of 41,868 kilojoules/kg.
Energy mix means the sum of final consumption, distribution and transformation losses plus statistical differences.
Energy sources included
Coal and lignite
Petroleum and products = Gas/diesel fuel; residual fuel oil
Gas = Natural and derived gas
Nuclear
Renewables = Hydro; wind; tide, wave and ocean; solar; geothermal; biomass and RES waste; biogases; liquid biofuels
Waste (non-renewable) = industrial and municipal waste such as plastics and other non-renewable materials that are incinerated for heat or electricity production
You can see consolidated data for the EU-28. By selecting individual Member States, you can compare performance.
By pressing on the bar for a specific source in the chart, the App displays the contribution of the selected source to total energy mix.
Source