European renewable electricity demand up

The growth is up more than 8% from 2014 and surpassed 340 TWh. Behind this growth are thousands of businesses and millions of households in numerous European countries – voluntarily purchasing renewable electricity documented with Guarantees of Origin.

The market has seen a steady increase in national participants but is still dominated by a select number of countries. The five countries that consume the most renewable energy are Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy. Together they demand ¾ of the renewable energy used in Europe. The Netherlands is the fastest growing market. From 2014 to 2015 it has grown by a brisk 12%, and consumed more than 42.5 TWh in 2015. Germany is still the largest market with a total volume of 87 TWh in 2015.

The marketplace for Guarantees of Origin is steadily growing in terms of countries, with more than 20 countries actively working with AIB (Association of Issuing Bodies) and fully using EECS, the common European market standard.

According to the AIB, the European demand for renewable electricity documented by Guarantees of Origin now constitutes more than 13% of all electricity consumption in Europe (ca. 3,200 TWh) and approximately 40% of all electricity generated from renewable sources in Europe (ca. 1,100 TWh).

By Jake Frith