"In 2014, the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy reached 16.0% in the European Union (EU), almost double that of 2004 (8.5%), the first year for which data is available," Eurostat said.
"The share of renewables in gross final consumption of energy is one of the headline indicators of the Europe 2020 strategy. The target to be reached by 2020 for the EU is a share of 20% energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy. However, renewables will continue to play a key role in helping the EU meet its energy needs beyond 2020. For this reason, Member States have already agreed on a new EU renewable energy target of at least 27% by 2030," it said.
Since 2004, the share of renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy grew significantly in all member states. In 2014, compared with 2013, it increased in 24 of the 28 member states, decreased in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, and stagnated in Hungary.
By far the highest share, of 52.6%, was recorded in Sweden, followed by Latvia and Finland (both 38.7%), Austria (33.1%) and Denmark (29.2%). At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest proportions of renewables were registered in Luxembourg (4.5%), Malta (4.7%), the Netherlands (5.5%) and the United Kingdom (7.0%).
In Croatia, the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy in 2014 was 27.9%, as against 28.1% in 2013. In that way Croatia exceeded the 2020 target of 20% and reached the EU target for 2030, according to Eurostat's report.