EU Renewable Electricity Generation by Country (GWh): 1965–2025
Watch how renewable electricity generation has grown across the EU-27 since 1965.
📊 Key Takeaways (2025)
- Top 5 Generators: The leading EU countries in renewable electricity generation are led by Germany (292,710 GWh), Spain (161,540 GWh), Norway (157,890 GWh), UK (152,390 GWh), and France (146,890 GWh).
- Spain's Position: Spain currently ranks #2 in the EU-27, generating 161,540 GWh of renewable electricity in 2025.
- Massive Growth: Since 1965, Spain's annual renewable electricity generation has increased by an impressive 141,853 GWh.
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- Definition: "Renewable electricity" in this dataset includes solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy, and geothermal sources, as defined by Ember and Our World in Data.
Methodology & Data Source
The data visualized above is sourced from Our World in Data, which curates its electricity dataset based on primary data from Ember. We filter this global dataset specifically for the current 27 member states of the European Union.
To provide more granular numbers, we convert the original dataset's unit (Terawatt-hours, TWh) into Gigawatt-hours (GWh) by multiplying by 1,000. The chart ranks countries dynamically based on their generation in each given year. The data is updated annually.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as "renewable" here?
This includes electricity generated from wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal sources. It does not include nuclear power (which is low-carbon but not strictly renewable) or fossil fuels.
Why use GWh instead of percentage?
Absolute generation (GWh) shows the sheer scale of energy transition. While a small country might be 100% renewable, a large country reaching 50% renewable might actually be contributing vastly more clean energy to the European grid overall.
Why do larger countries dominate?
Countries with larger landmasses and populations simply consume and generate more electricity total. They also have more physical space to install wind farms, solar fields, and hydroelectric dams.
How often is this updated?
We rebuild this chart when updated annual data is published by Ember/OWID.