The European Union lifted renewable energy's share of final energy use to 26.2% in 2025, but the bloc still remains well below its 42.5% 2030 goal, Eurostat said Thursday.
Renewables accounted for 26.2% of the European Union's gross final energy consumption in 2025, up from 25.2% in 2024 and 9.6% in 2004, the agency said.
The European Union must increase the renewable share by an average of 3.3% annually from 2026 through 2030 to reach its 42.5% renewable energy target, it said.
Sweden recorded the bloc's highest renewable energy share at 65.4%, driven by solid biomass, hydro and wind. Finland followed at 53.0%, while Denmark reached 48.2%, according to Eurostat.
Belgium posted the lowest renewable energy share at 14.9%, followed by Slovakia at 16.3% and Ireland at 17.2%, the data showed.
Renewable sources supplied 49.9% of the European Union's gross electricity consumption in 2025, up 2.4% from 2024 and well above 15.9% in 2004, Eurostat said.
Austria generated 90.8% of its electricity from renewables, while Sweden reached 89.2%. Denmark posted 77.7%, Portugal 65.6%, Greece 60.9% and Spain 60.7%, the agency said.
Malta recorded the lowest renewable electricity share at 11.2%, followed by Czechia at 19.2%, Luxembourg at 23.3%, Slovakia at 24.1% and Cyprus at 27.5%, the data showed.
Renewable energy supplied 27.4% of heating and cooling demand across the European Union in 2025, the highest level since 2004, when the share stood at 11.7%, Eurostat said.
The share of heating and cooling from renewables rose from 26.7% in 2024 to 27.4% in 2025, a 0.7% increase that remained slightly below the long-term annual average gain of 0.75 percentage point, according to Eurostat.