Greece was the first to produce electricity from photovoltaics in 2022, according to data from Energy Monitor, a platform that monitors electricity produced in the 27 EU member states and is automatically updated by the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E). In particular, the share of solar energy in the electricity production of our country reached 13.5% last year, while the top six include Spain (12.4%), Germany (11.2%), Lithuania (10.01%) , Hungary (9.8%) and Italy (9.2%).
Correspondingly, the penetration rate of wind energy in Greece was 21.9%, ranking our country in seventh place in Europe. In the first ten places are Ireland (74.8%), Denmark (55.9%), Lithuania (42.1%), Portugal (31.6%), Luxembourg (26.1%), Germany (25.1%), Greece, Spain (21.6%), Sweden (20.3%) and Finland (17.4%).
Overall, our country is in 11th place, in terms of the overall penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in the electrical mix, reaching 43.2%, together with hydroelectric (7.8%). They lead, forming the top ten, Luxembourg (92%), Ireland (90.5%), Lithuania (82.2%), Denmark (77%), Latvia (69.9%), Sweden (63.8%), Portugal (59.1%), Finland (49.3%), Germany (47.7%) and Spain (43.9%).
Specifically for hydroelectric power, Latvia and Austria are the first to produce energy with the power of water with 58.9% and 58.8% respectively, followed by Sweden with 43%. The participation of energy produced from biomass is also impressive _ in Estonia the percentage reaches 16.9%, in Lithuania 10.4%, in Finland 9.3%, in Germany and Portugal 8%. In Greece, the percentage of biomass in the electricity generation mix is zero.
As far as fossil fuels are concerned, the shares of gas in electricity production remain high in many states, with Greece occupying third place. In particular, in 2022 gas participated in the energy mix with high percentages in Italy (48.1%), the Netherlands (45.9%), Greece (43.9%), Portugal (40.4%), Spain (31%), Croatia (25.4%), Hungary (25%), Latvia (24.6%), Belgium (22.4%), Austria (21.9%) and Romania (19.2%).
As for the use of “coal”, the first and with a difference from the rest is Poland with 73.7%, followed by Bulgaria with 47.6%, the Czech Republic with 42.6%, Germany with 33.5%, Spain with 31%, Slovenia with 23.4%, Romania 19.1% Denmark 14.9%, Greece with 12.9%, Lithuania 14.3% and Germany 10.8%.
In the “nuclear” chapter, France leads with 65% and Slovakia with 61.2%, followed by Belgium with 47.8%, Hungary with 47.5%, Finland with 37.8%, the Czech Republic with 37, 4%, Bulgaria with 32.9% and Sweden with 30.9%.
More generally, out of competition in terms of RES is the small state of Luxembourg, which stands out with its percentages in “green” energy (25.3% solar energy, 26.1% wind and 29% biomass) with the total penetration of RES in the electrical mix to reach 92%.
Energy Monitor’s European Electricity Map aims to track the EU’s progress towards achieving its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2030 and 100 % by 2050. A difficult path given that global electricity demand is estimated to more than double between 2020 and 2050, based on the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Pathway. According to them, the share of steel produced in an electric arc furnace will increase from 20% to 53%, the share of electric vehicles will increase from 1% to 53%, and heat pumps will meet 55% of demand heat, from 7% today.
However, as heavy industry has shrunk and electricity systems have started to ‘green’, EU carbon emissions have fallen by almost a quarter over the past three decades, from 17% in 1990 to 8% in 2020. However, given that Europe was the first region in the world to industrialize, its contribution to historical emissions amounts to 33%, even though it “hosts” only 10% of the world’s population.
