Latvia sixth in EU for renewable electricity

Figures published by Eurostat February 22 show that Latvia remains among the leaders in the European Union for renewable energy use.

As previously reported by LSM, when it comes to renewables of all sorts, Latvia ranks third in the EU. On elecricity from rebewable sources however, it is lower down the rankings in sixth place.

Electricity from renewable sources in EU, 2022
Photo: Eurostat

In 2022, renewable energy sources made up 41.2% of gross electricity consumption in the EU, 3.4 percentage points (pp) more than in 2021 (37.8%) and well ahead of other electricity-generation sources such as nuclear (less than 22%), gas (less than 20%) or coal (less than 17%).

In total, renewable energy sources increased by 5.7% from 2021 to 2022.

Wind and hydropower accounted for over two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources (37.5% and 29.9%, respectively). The remaining one-third of electricity came from solar (18.2%), solid biofuels (6.9%) and other renewable sources (7.5%). Solar power is the fastest-growing source: in 2008 it only accounted for 1% of the electricity consumed in the EU. 

The majority of Sweden's electricity consumption in 2022 came from renewable sources (83.3%, mostly hydro and wind) followed by Denmark (77.2%, mostly wind) and Austria (74.7%, mostly hydro). Shares above 50% were also registered in Portugal (61.0%), Croatia (55.5%), Latvia (53.3%) and Spain (50.9%).

Source: Eurostat