Calculation methodologies for the share of renewables in energy consumption
Data extracted in February 2023
The aim of this article is to describe the most common methods used to calculate the share of renewables in energy consumption in the European Union (EU). In addition, this article also provides additional methodological details on the primary energy content of renewable energy sources, which are important to understand the calculation of different types of shares of renewables.
Full article
Definition of the primary energy content of fuels
Table 1 shows the four most commonly used indicators to calculate the share of renewables in energy consumption. There are significant differences in the results and the reasons for these differences might be difficult to understand to non-experts.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_s) (nrg_ind_ren)
For combustible fuels (fossil and renewable fuels/products[1]) the primary energy content is calculated as the heat value generated during fuel combustion.
For non-combustible energies (hydro, wind, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, nuclear and others) it is necessary to establish energy boundaries and methodological choices to define their corresponding primary energy.
The choice for Eurostat's energy statistics and energy balances is to use the physical energy content method. This method is also used at international level (e.g. by the International Energy Agency and UN). Its general principle is to define the primary energy as the first flow in the production process with a practical energy use. This leads to different situations depending on the energy product:
- For directly combustible energy products (for example lignite, natural gas, motor gasoline, biogas, firewood and combustible municipal waste) the primary energy is defined as the heat generated during combustion.
- For products that are not directly combustible, the application of this principle leads to:
- the choice of heat as the primary energy form for nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal and ambient heat; and
- the choice of electricity as the primary energy form for solar photovoltaics, wind, hydro, tide, wave, ocean.
When the amount of heat produced in the nuclear reactor is not known, the primary energy equivalent is calculated from the electricity generation by assuming 33 % efficiency. In the case of electricity and heat generated by geothermal energy: if the quantity of geothermal heat is not known, the primary energy equivalent is calculated assuming an efficiency of 10 % for electricity production and 50 % for heat production. If two energy balances are constructed with different methodological choices and different assumptions on efficiency conversions and calorific values, it will lead to different results for the share of renewables.
Gross available energy
This aggregate is calculated as follows:
Gross available energy = Primary production + Recovered & Recycled products + Imports – Exports + Stock changes
For the total of all products, the Gross available energy is one of the most important aggregates of energy balances and represents the quantity of energy necessary to satisfy all energy demand of entities operating under the authority of the geographical territory under consideration. Its interpretation for individual products is different. In addition, for secondary products, which are produced as transformation output and not as primary productions, the gross available energy can be negative. This aggregate includes both international maritime bunkers (fuels delivered to ships of all flags that are engaged in international navigation at sea, on inland lakes and waterways, and in coastal waters) and international aviation (fuels delivered to aircrafts for international flights, determined on the basis of departure and landing locations and not by the nationality of the airline).
Gross inland energy consumption
The gross inland energy consumption (also called gross inland consumption) of all products represents the quantity of energy necessary to satisfy inland consumption of the geographical entity under consideration. This aggregate includes international aviation but excludes international maritime bunkers.
For primary fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), gross inland energy consumption represents the quantities of energy that were consumed in the country/region. It is calculated from the supply perspective and reflects the actual production, imports, exports and stock changes, minus international aviation. All forms of renewable energies are treated as primary fuels and thus all renewable energy is included in the gross inland energy consumption.
For derived fossil products, as well as for electricity and derived heat, the quantities of energy only reflect the trade (imports and exports) and stock changes of the commodities, because these energy goods cannot be produced directly from nature (i.e. their primary production is zero). These energy goods are always produced by transformation of primary fossil fuels. In the gross inland energy consumption these derived fuels are accounted as primary fuels, from which they were produced.
Total energy supply
This aggregate follows the recommendations in the International Recommendations for Energy Statistics for key aggregates of energy balances. This is an aggregate with the following arithmetic definition:
Total energy supply = Primary production + Recovered & Recycled products + Imports – Exports + Stock changes – International maritime bunkers – International aviation.
Therefore, it excludes both international maritime bunkers and international aviation. For the total of all products, the total energy supply is one of the most important aggregates of energy balance and represents the quantity of energy necessary to satisfy inland consumption (inland fuel deliveries) of the geographical entity under consideration. Its interpretation for individual products is different. For secondary products, which are produced as transformation output and not as primary productions, the total energy supply can be negative.
Share of renewable energy based on gross available energy, gross inland energy consumption and total energy supply
The share of energy from renewable sources calculated on the level of gross available energy, gross inland energy consumption and total energy supply represents the ratio of renewable energy consumed in the country/region to the total amount of energy consumed by the country/region (expressed by each of the above indicators). In addition to energy delivered to end-users (industry, services, households etc.), it also includes quantities of energy delivered for energy transformation purposes (for example coal or biogas combustion to generate electricity) and its related transformation losses (e.g. heat losses through the chimney). The use of fossil fuels for non-energy purposes are also included (e.g. natural gas for chemical reactions or bitumen for road surface).
The calculation of the share of energy from renewable sources using data on the supply level (with each of the above indicators) is influenced by the choice of the energy balance methodology. It represents the use of renewable energies for all purposes with respect to the use of all other forms of energies.
Based on Eurostat data, these indicators can be consistently calculated starting from 1990 for all EU Member States and for the EU aggregates.
Results of the calculations of the share of energy from renewable sources using data based on the gross available energy, gross inland energy consumption and total energy supply are shown in Tables 2, 3 and 4, respectively.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_s)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_s)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_s)
Energy available for final consumption
Energy available for final consumption is a calculated aggregate of Eurostat's energy balances[2]. The energy available for final consumption has some differences compared with gross available energy, as follows:
- The first and most important difference is that losses occurred in energy transformation processes are now excluded.
- The second most important difference is the transformation of all nuclear energy, as well as a part of fossil fuels and renewables, into electricity and derived heat. They are now included in their totality. Furthermore, there is no distinction between "renewable electricity" and "nuclear electricity"; there is "average" electricity, with all energy sources combined (fossil, nuclear and renewable).
- Other elements of consumption, such as consumption of the energy branch of industry, distribution losses and other elements of energy balance methodology have less significant implications for this calculation, due to their much lower magnitudes.
Share of renewable energy based on energy available for final consumption
The calculation of the share of energy from renewable sources using data on the level of the energy available for final consumption represents the ratio of renewable energy put at the disposal of end-users to the total amount of energy available to end-users (for energy and non-energy purposes). This is measured at the level of energy actually at the disposal of end-users (after transformation from primary energy form to the end-use form) and all electricity is counted as not renewable. In other words, renewables in this accounting do not include electricity and derived heat produced from renewable energy sources. Consequently, the calculated result using energy available for final consumption underestimates the share of energy from renewable sources.
Based on Eurostat data, this indicator can be consistently calculated starting from 1990 for all EU Member States and for the EU aggregate.
Results of the calculations for the share of energy from renewable sources using data based on the energy available for final consumption are shown in Table 5.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_s)
Final energy consumption
Final energy consumption is a calculated aggregate of Eurostat's energy balances. In Eurostat's energy balance, the link between the final energy consumption and the energy available for final consumption is the statistical difference[3]. A schematic diagram of this relationship is shown in Figure 1.
Final energy consumption is a concept stemming from a bottom-up approach – aggregation of consumption in various sectors of consumption (industry, transport, households, services and others). As such, it often uses different data sources and calculation concepts other than the top-down approach used to calculate gross inland energy consumption, which reflects rather more the supply side.
Share of renewable energy based on final energy consumption
The calculation of the share of energy from renewable sources using data on the level of the final energy consumption represents the ratio of renewable energy consumed by end-users to the total energy consumption of end-users. This is measured as the energy actually consumed by end-users (after transformation from primary energy form to the end-use form) and electricity is counted as a separate fuel besides the others such as coal or renewables. In other words, renewables in this accounting do not include electricity and derived heat produced from renewable energy sources. Consequently, the calculated result using final energy consumption underestimates the share of energy from renewable sources.
An important difference with energy available for final consumption is that the consumption of energy products for non-energy purposes is excluded.
Based on Eurostat data, this indicator can be consistently calculated starting from 1990 for all EU Member States and for the EU aggregate.
Results of the calculations for the share of energy from renewable sources using data based on the final energy consumption are shown in Table 6.
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_s)
Directives 2009/28/EC (RED I) and (EU) 2018/2001 (RED II) on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources established specific calculation criteria for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption. The most important aspects are the following:
- Data until 2020 are calculated on the basis of Directive 2009/28/EC (RED I), while data for 2021 and forward follow DIRECTIVE (EU) 2018/2001 of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (RED II). Due to the change of legal basis, a break in series occurs between 2020 and 2021. Readers are encouraged to analyse the differences between both Directives (RED I and RED II), the energy sector and all national specificities before drawing any conclusions from the comparison of year 2021 with previous time series. The SHARES Manual provides details on the methodology used for the calculation of the share of renewables.
- Specific definition of gross final energy consumption that excludes sectors involved in energy transformation (including transformation losses) but includes losses due to transmission and distribution. As such, this is a new aggregate which does not exist in Eurostat's energy balances.
- Electricity produced from hydro is normalised (averaged over a number of years to smooth out the effects of climatic variation) and excluding pumping. Wind is also normalised (and from 2021 onwards as per RED II separately for on-shore and off-shore).
- Only sustainable biofuels and bioliquids are taken into account as renewable energies eligible for the accounting of the share. For 2021 onwards (as per RED II), also solid and gaseous biofuels combusted in installations above a certain threshold need to comply with sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria. The split between sustainable and non-sustainable liquid, gaseous and solid biofuels and bioliquids does not exist in the traditional system of energy statistics and is also not covered in Eurostat's energy balances. Sustainable biomass, biomass fuels, biofuels and bioliquids are those compliant with Articles 17 and 18 of Directive 2009/28/EC and Articles 29 and 30 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001. The detailed split of categories under Annex IX of the Directive (which indicates the origin of sustainable biofuels) is compulsory from 2017 onwards. In case Annex IX quantities are known for periods before 2017, they can also be reported on a voluntary basis.
- Certain renewables are eligible for preferential accounting (multiplier for electricity in electric road vehicles and biofuels from wastes, residues, non-food cellulosic material and ligno-cellulosic material).
- Energy consumption of aviation is capped if the aviation sector is significant in the energy consumption of the country. As per RED II, biofuels used in aviation and maritime sectors can benefit from a multiplier.
- Bioliquids and biofuels from food sources are also capped. As per RED II, biofuels and bioliquids from high-indirect land use change risk are also capped. This does not exist in energy balances.
- Statistical transfers of renewable energies between countries and joint projects with countries outside the EU provide for administrative transfer of quantities of renewable energies between countries. This element is not reflected in Eurostat's energy balances.
Consequently, it is evident that for monitoring the targets under Directive 2009/28/EC (until 2020) and Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (from 2021 onwards), data from energy balances can only be used as an approximation and indication of development. While it is possible to calculate with very high accuracy these shares for all EU Member States based on energy balances, additional data are needed for an accurate calculation based on the accounting rules of RED I and RED II. This is one of the main reasons why Eurostat developed the SHARES tool, which allows for a harmonised calculation for all EU Member States.
Based on Eurostat data, this indicator can be consistently calculated only from 2004 for all EU Member States and for the EU aggregate. Results of the calculations for the share of energy from renewable sources based on the SHARES tool are shown in Table 7.
(% of gross final energy consumption)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_ind_ren)
Source data for tables and graphs
Direct access to
- Energy statistics - main indicators (t_nrg_indic)
- Energy statistics - quantities, annual data (nrg_quant)
- Share of energy from renewable sources (ESMS metadata file: nrg_ind_ren)
- Energy statistics - quantities (ESMS metadata file: nrg_quant)
- Energy balances (ESMS metadata file: nrg_bal)
- SHARES tool manual
- Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
- Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 on energy statistics
- Summaries of EU legislation: Common system for the production of energy statistics
Notes
- ↑ This concept applies to primary fuels (crude oil, natural gas, coal, solid biomass) as well as derived fuels (motor gasoline, gas/diesel oil, coke oven coke, charcoal, etc.).
- ↑ Available for final consumption = Gross inland energy consumption – Transformation input + Transformation output – Energy sector – Distribution losses
- ↑ Statistical difference = Energy available for final consumption – Final non-energy consumption – Final energy consumption