Renewable energy continued to gain ground across the European Union in 2024, with green sources supplying just under half of all electricity consumed. According to the latest Eurostat data, renewables covered 47.5% of gross electricity demand, a clear increase from the previous year that underscores a long-term structural shift in the EU’s energy system.
This latest result marks a rise of just over 2 percentage points compared to 2023 and highlights the speed of transformation in the electricity sector. Two decades ago, renewables accounted for less than one-sixth of electricity use in the bloc. By the mid-2010s they had crossed the one-quarter threshold, and since then growth has accelerated steadily.
Wind and hydropower continued to form the backbone of renewable electricity generation, together delivering close to two-thirds of total green output. Wind remained the single largest contributor, followed by hydropower, while solar power further strengthened its position within the energy mix.
Solar energy stood out as the most dynamic segment of the transition. Once almost negligible, it has expanded rapidly over the past decade and a half, evolving from a marginal contributor in the late 2000s into a core pillar of renewable generation. Total solar electricity production surged to more than 300 TWh in 2024, reflecting massive capacity additions across the EU.
At the national level, several member states are now heavily reliant on renewables for their electricity needs. Austria and Sweden topped the ranking, with renewable sources covering nearly nine-tenths of consumption, while Denmark followed closely. A broad group of countries—including Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Latvia, Finland, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands—also recorded renewable shares above 50%.
In contrast, a handful of member states remain at an earlier stage of the transition. Malta, Czechia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Cyprus and Slovakia all reported renewable shares below one quarter of total electricity consumption, highlighting the uneven pace of change across the Union.