3.2 What is the source of the electricity we consume?
Over 40 % of the electricity consumed in the EU comes from power stations burning fossil fuels
Around 22 % of the final energy we consume is electricity and it comes from different sources. In the EU in 2015, 43 % of the electricity consumed came from power stations burning fossil fuels and 30 % from renewable energy sources, while 27 % came from nuclear power plants. Among the renewable energy sources, the highest share of electricity consumed came from hydropower plants (11 %), wind turbines (9 %), biofuels (6 %) and solar power (3 %).
The sources of electricity production vary among the Member States: over 90 % of electricity consumption came from fossil fuels in Malta and Cyprus, while three quarters (77 %) of electricity consumption came from nuclear power plants in France, followed by 56 % in Slovakia and 52 % in Hungary. In Croatia and Austria, around 60 % of electricity consumption came from hydro power plants, while 49 % of electricity production in Denmark came from wind energy.
