Italy slightly above the continental average, nearing 50%. Denmark and Portugal lead the ranking.
The European power mix has never been cleaner. In 2024, renewable energy sources accounted for 47.4% of the net electricity generated in the European Union – a 2.6 percentage point increase from the previous year, according to Eurostat.
Denmark and Portugal lead the European power mix in renewables
Scandinavian and Baltic countries continue to dominate the rankings, along with the Iberian Peninsula. Among EU members, Denmark recorded the highest share of clean energy, with 88.8% of its electricity generated from renewables, primarily wind power. The country saw a leap of over six percentage points from 2023 when wind energy already made up more than half of its power mix.
Portugal followed with 87.4%, mainly from wind and hydropower, while Croatia reached 73.8%, with hydro being the dominant source. Portugal’s renewable energy growth outpaced Denmark’s, climbing from just 61% in 2023. The country’s National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) outlines a target to double its wind power capacity from 5 GW in 2022 to 12 GW by 2030.
At the bottom of the renewable energy ranking in the EU power mix were Malta (15.1%), the Czech Republic (17.5%), and Cyprus (24.1%), reporting the lowest shares of electricity from renewables.
Italy positioned itself just above the EU average, approaching 50%, alongside the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Greece, and Romania.
Wind and hydropower dominate, while solar surges
Breaking down the contribution of specific renewable sources at the European level, wind and hydropower together accounted for more than two-thirds of renewable electricity generation. Wind power contributed 39.1%, while hydropower made up 29.9% of the European power mix.
Solar energy followed at 22.4%, trailing significantly behind, while biofuels and other sources accounted for 8.1%. Geothermal energy made up just 0.5% of the total.
A report from Ember analyzing 2024’s energy trends highlighted the differing growth rates of wind and solar power. While wind remains the dominant renewable source in the EU power mix, its year-over-year increase was marginal. In contrast, solar power saw record growth in 2024, with 66 GW of new solar capacity installed across the EU. According to Ember, solar was the single biggest factor in reducing the share of fossil fuels in the EU’s 2024 power mix.
