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The total amount of energy supply sources -both globally and in the EU- are coming presently from oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, as well as hydro and other renewables; the account was prepared by the World Energy Institute’s 2025 Statistical Review (with the most recent data for 2024), providing the reliable source of information on the share of each source in the EU member states’ energy mix.
Background
Fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) are rapidly declining in the EU energy mix, dropping below 39% of electricity production by early 2026, with wind and solar reaching roughly 30% and becoming the primary power source. Despite this shift, fossil fuels still make up significant portions of energy in countries like Cyprus, Malta and Poland, with gas remaining a key, though reduced, bridging fuel.
As concerns grow over energy security and dependence on imported fuels, the rise of domestically produced wind and solar power is increasingly seen as a cornerstone of Europe’s economic and geopolitical resilience, not only a climate solution.
Reference to: https://www.renewableinstitute.org/wind-and-solar-surpassed-fossil-fuels-in-eu-power-mix/#:~:text=Wind%20and%20solar%20power%20surpassed%20fossil%20fuels,system%20after%20decades%20of%20fossil%20fuel%20dominance.
Analysts stated that this shift was largely propelled by a surge in solar power, which reached a record high and supplied 13% of electricity across the EU. In five EU states, solar accounted for over a fifth of power generation, including the Netherlands, despite its reputation for limited sunshine. Wind generation did dip slightly compared with the previous year but it still ranked as the EU’s second largest electricity source, providing 17% of total power.
The EU energy report-2025 found that fossil gas use increased by 8%, seen to be influenced by reduced hydropower output, linked to weather conditions. However, overall gas generation remained well below its 2019 peak and coal-fired power fell to a new historic low, making up less than 10% of EU electricity.
Source: www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/22/wind-and-solar-overtook-fossil-fuels-in-power-generation-for-eu-in-2025-report
Fossil fuels in the EU Energy
= Declining role: Wind and solar power surpassed all fossil fuels combined in the EU’s electricity mix for the first time in 2024, a trend that strengthened into 2025.
= Coal phase-out: Coal power has hit historic lows, dropping from 24% of the power mix in 2015 to around 9-13% by early 2026. Several nations (Austria, Sweden, Portugal) have phased it out completely.
= Natural gas reliance: Gas remains significant in the power sector (17% in 2025). While gas consumption for electricity is down, it has not returned to pre-2021 crisis levels.
= Regional differences: Petroleum products (petrol, diesel) still represent over half of final energy consumption in countries like Cyprus and Malta.
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2025/five-years-of-progress/
EU energy transition
The newly prepared data (by the Centre for Energy Economics Research and Policy at Heriot-Watt University) reflects a complex picture of the global energy transition. Electrification is accelerating, particularly in China, where access to low carbon energy solutions is expanding rapidly. However, globally the pace of renewable deployment is still being outstripped by overall energy demand growth, much of which continues to be met by fossil fuels. The world remains in an energy addition mode, rather than a clear transition.
Reference to: https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review/resources-and-data-downloads
For the first time since 2006, all major energy sources, renewables and fossil fuels alike, hit record consumption levels, a reflection of surging global demand. No country has shaped this outcome more than China. Its rapid expansion of renewable capacity, alongside continued reliance on coal, gas, and oil, is driving global energy trends. The scale and direction of China’s energy choices will be pivotal in determining whether the world can deliver a secure, affordable, and low-carbon energy future.
Wayth N. Chief Executive, Energy Institute, at: https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review
Total Energy Supply (TES) is a key concept used in energy statistics and policy analysis to measure the total amount of energy that a country needs to supply to meet its final end-use demand. It reflects the energy that is either produced domestically or imported, minus what is exported or stored. Some energy sources are consumed directly whilst others may be converted into fuels or electricity for final consumption with transmission, distribution, and efficiency losses impacting throughout the system.
TES serves as a baseline for assessing energy dependency, planning infrastructure, and evaluating sustainability and climate impacts. Calculating it typically follows the United Nations’ International Recommendations for Energy Statistics (IRES) for creating national energy balances.
Three type of energy source are included in the present accounts:
= Primary energy, which is “found in nature” that has not been subjected to any human engineered conversion process. It encompasses energy contained in raw fuels and other forms of energy, including waste, received as input to a system; it can be non-renewable or renewable.
For many years, the efficiency of this standard power plant has been assumed to be 38%. However, in reality, the world average efficiency of fossil fuel-based power changes over time and has risen from around 36% in 2000 to over 40% today. Moreover, given the much higher efficiency of the most modern power plant (e.g. the thermal efficiency of a modern gas turbine plant is above 55%), the global average is expected to increase in the future.
= Secondary energy, as the primary energy converted into an alternate, usually transportable, form. Liquid fuels (such as petrol and diesel refined crude oil), electricity, and heat are examples.
= Tertiary energy, as the secondary energy that is converted into another form prior to the final consumption” for instance, coal (primary) can be converted to synthetic gas (secondary) which can be converted to electricity (tertiary).
More in: https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2025/five-years-of-progress/
Besides, the total energy supply (TES) includes all the energy produced in or imported to a country, minus that which is exported or stored. It represents all the energy required to supply end users in the country as first recorded in a statistical energy balance. Then, the final energy demand (FED) represents the energy used by final end users (such as households, transport, industry etc.) for all energy uses.
The fossil fuel equivalent method (FFEM) is a way of comparing the energy inputs of renewable energy sources, like solar or wind, to the primary energy inputs of traditional fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) by converting renewable energy into a comparable unit using a “fossil fuel equivalency factor” allowing for a direct comparison. It indicates how much fossil fuel would be needed to provide the same amount of energy (usually electricity) as a given renewable source.
Oil is still the largest energy source in six of the world’s 10 biggest economies, including the U.S., Germany, Japan, the UK and Italy. In these countries, oil plays a major role in transportation and industrial sectors. Italy has the highest reliance on oil among the group, with nearly 46% of its energy coming from petroleum. Germany and the UK also depend heavily on oil, though both have been expanding renewable energy capacity in recent years.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/energy-mix-of-worlds-10-largest-economies/?mc_cid=9de3dd7201
Coal dominates energy supply in China and India, accounting for nearly 60% of their energy mixes; however, both China and India are also investing heavily in renewable energy and nuclear power as they attempt to balance economic growth with emissions reductions.
France stands out for nuclear power, which provides over 46% of its energy mix, the highest share among the EU-27.
Russian gas still accounted for 14% of total EU gas consumption in 2024 (down from around 50% in 2019). In fact, gas imports from Russia (including pipeline and liquefied natural gas) increased by 18% in 2024, from 38 bcm in 2023 to 45 bcm, mainly due to increased imports into Italy (+4 bcm), Czechia (+2 bcm), and France (+1.7 bcm). The power sector alone consumed approximately 88 bcm of gas in 2024: approximately 10 bcm (12%) was from Russia, providing an estimated €4 bn in revenue.
In an effort to bring Russian gas imports to zero, the EU has not only been reducing gas consumption, but also diversifying gas sources. This led to more reliance on imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which accounted for 38% of imports in 2024, up from 22% in 2019. This reliance is only likely to deepen as Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine stopped in January 2025. Continuing to reduce EU gas demand in all sectors – including power – will deliver further strategic, economic and climate benefits. It will minimise the exposure of households and companies to the inherent volatility and price shocks of the global LNG market. Additionally, it will avoid negative climate impacts, as burning US LNG is as polluting as burning coal. Finally, it is fully aligned with the EU’s security objective to end reliance on Russian energy.
Source: https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2025/five-years-of-progress/
Energy for the digital transition
A massive build-out of data center capacity is underway. Bloomberg has tracked 22.8 gigawatts of IT capacity (or compute capacity) currently under construction globally. This is likely to come online in the next three years, and is more than a third of the size of the existing market. As challenges emerge in existing data center hubs, developers are looking to new geographies for the next phase of growth. how friendly a market is for new data centers. Energy availability and land permitting emerged as the most important factors, together making up 58% of a market’s overall score. Tax policy, fiber connectivity and existing data center capacity rounded out the scoring system, which consists of 43 metrics per market.
Historically, the European data center market has been centered around “FLAP-D” – the metropolitan areas around Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin. These cities are hubs of the technology and finance sectors, both of which drove early demand for compute, and they have also developed into important fiber hubs. However, grid congestion, high power prices, long interconnection queues and lack of available land now serve as major headwinds in these regions and, to varying extents, in their national markets.
As challenges mount in traditional hubs, early-stage capacity is increasingly shifting to the Nordics, and to Spain. These markets offer a similar pitch: lots of land, cheap and clean energy as well as and generally, more supportive attitudes to data center development. This is demonstrated when we look at our average scores for Europe’s second tier markets against those for FLAP-D. The former achieved significantly stronger scores on energy and land permitting.
Source: https://about.bnef.com/insights/commodities/new-data-center-hotspots-are-emerging-four-things-to-know/