Eurostat figures reported by LIAA show that Latvia remains among the leaders in renewable energy use. When it comes to renewables of all sorts, the Baltic country ranks third in the EU. On electricity from renewable sources, however, it is lower down the rankings in sixth place.

In 2022, renewable energy sources constituted 41.2% of the EU’s gross electricity consumption, an increase of 3.4 percentage points from 2021’s 37.8%. This figure significantly surpasses that of other sources of electricity generation such as nuclear (less than 22%), gas (less than 20%), or coal (less than 17%).

Overall, the use of renewable energy sources saw a 5.7% increase between 2021 and 2022.

Wind and hydropower contributed to more than two-thirds of the total renewable electricity generation, with 37.5% and 29.9% respectively. The remaining third was produced by solar energy (18.2%), solid biofuels (6.9%), and other renewables (7.5%). Solar power has seen the most rapid growth as a source; it comprised only 1% of the EU’s electricity consumption in 2008.

In 2022, the majority of Sweden’s electricity consumption was derived from renewable sources, accounting for 83.3% predominantly from hydro and wind power. Denmark followed closely with 77.2%, primarily utilizing wind energy, and Austria with 74.7%, mainly through hydroelectric power. Additionally, Portugal (61.0%), Croatia (55.5%), Latvia (53.3%), and Spain (50.9%) all recorded shares above 50%.