Energy Profile - Europe
"The Old Continent"
(Population: 857 mi; GDP: US$16.64 tri; primary energy consumption: 993 Mtoe; electricity consumption: 2,809 TWh; installed capacity: 968 GW; energy self-sufficiency: 42.5%)
Becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is the objective behind the European Green Deal, the very ambitious package of measures that should enable Europe to benefit from sustainable green transition [EC, 2023].
Energy mix - gas dependency
In 2021, 76% of Europe’s energy were made by burning fossil fuels: gas (34%), oil (31%), and coal (11%). The Old Continent is highly dependent on natural gas (NG) for generating electricity, transport, and heating (in 2021, 34% of Europe’s energy came from burning gas). Belarus is the most gas-dependent country in Europe with 62% of its energy coming from gas, followed by Russia (54%), Italy (42%), U.K. (40%), and Hungary (39%) (Figure 1) [AJ, 2023].
Share on renewables
Europe has an abundance of renewable energy sources, and its countries in recent years have become leaders in driving the deployment of renewable technologies [IRENA, 2023]. Figure 2 shows the share of energy from renewables. Europe has adopted targets to achieve a 32% share of renewable energy in energy consumption by 2030.
Wind & solar vs gas
Wind & solar generated a record 22.3% of EU electricity in 2022, for the first time overtaking nuclear (21.9%) and gas (19.9%), according to the analysis and shown in the chart below (Figure 3). It comes after wind & solar overtook hydro power in 2015 and coal in 2019 [CB, 2023].
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Europe reliance on overseas materials
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Europe wants to reduce its reliance on China, but a full decoupling would be neither desirable nor achievable. Figure 4 shows critical raw materials supply risk assessment for the EU's green transition.
Figure 1: Europe reliance on fossil fuels
Figure 2: Share of energy from renewables, 2021
Figure 3: Wind & solar topping power source for the first time ever
Figure 4: Supply risk assessment on critical materials
