Since the introduction of the original Renewable Energy Directive, the share of renewable energy sources in EU energy consumption has increased from 12.5% in 2010 to 26.2% in 2025. Sweden had the highest share of renewables in its consumption (65.4%), ahead of Finland (53%) and Denmark (48.2%), as reported to Eurostat.
The EU is a global leader on renewables when it comes to technology development and deployment, and renewable energy is a pillar of the clean energy transition. It comes at a low cost and is home-grown, which reduces our dependency on external suppliers. This is why the EU’s level of ambition on increasing the share of renewables in its energy mix and the measures needed to achieve this are regularly revisited.
In 2025, renewables accounted for 47.2% of the EU’s electricity production (Eurostat) and according to a Eurobarometer survey from the same year, 88% of Europeans think it is important that the EU take action to increase renewable energy.
Key facts
The directive and its targets
Given the need to speed up the EU’s clean energy transition, the Renewable Energy Directive (EU/2018/2001) was revised in 2023 and the amending Directive EU/2023/2413 entered into force on 20 November 2023. It included an 18-month period to transpose most of the directive's provisions into national law, and a shorter deadline of July 2024 for some provisions related to permitting for renewables.
The renewable energy target
The revised directive sets an overall binding target to reach a share of at least 42.5% of energy from renewable sources in the EU’s gross final consumption by 2030, but is aiming for 45%.
The ambition is to accelerate the pace of renewable energy installations across the EU and thereby also speed up the phase-out of imported fossil fuels, in line with the REPowerEU plan and roadmap.
Stronger measures
Building on the 2009 and 2018 directives, the revised directive introduces stronger measures to ensure that all possibilities for the further development and uptake of renewables are fully utilised. This is key to achieving the EU's objective of climate neutrality by 2050 and strengthening Europe's security of energy supply.
In addition to the new headline target to double the existing share of renewable energy sources, a strong policy framework will facilitate electrification, with new increased sector-specific targets for renewables in heating and cooling, transport, industry, buildings and district heating/cooling, but also with a framework promoting electric vehicles and smart recharging.
To support renewables uptake in transport, and heating and cooling, it introduces some of the concepts outlined in the energy system integration and hydrogen strategies, published in 2020. These concepts aim at creating an energy-efficient, circular and renewable energy system that facilitates renewables-based electrification and promotes the use of renewable fuels, including hydrogen, in sectors like transport or industry where electrification is not yet a feasible option. For these hard-to-electrify sectors, the directive sets new binding targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs).
As an important bottleneck which delays the deployment of renewables on the ground, permit-granting procedures will also become easier and faster – not only for renewable energy projects (such as through shorter approval periods and the creation of 'Renewables acceleration areas'), but also for the necessary infrastructure projects.
As we phase out fossil fuels, bioenergy will also have a role to play. To facilitate this development, the 2023 directive reinforced the sustainability criteria for these energy sources.
Renewable energy framework post-2030
To keep Europe on track towards meeting its energy and climate goals, the Commission is preparing a renewable energy framework for the next decade, with proposals scheduled for publication by the end of 2026. It will seek to secure reliable, affordable, homegrown energy for European citizens and industry, and ensure that renewables contribute to the achievement of the 2040 EU climate target in a cost-efficient and sustainable way. EU citizens and stakeholders were invited to provide feedback on the initiative through a call for evidence and a public consultation that was open from 20 March to 12 June 2026.
Supporting implementation
To support the implementation of the directive, the Commission published a series of guidance documents and recommendations for EU countries, to help them transpose the different elements of the directive into national law.
Articles 15a, 22a, 23 and 24: heating and cooling
Article 20a: energy system integration
Following the guidance suggestion, an ad hoc dialogue was launched on 8 October 2024, during the Motor Vehicle Working Group (MVWG), followed by 2 ad hoc meetings on 25 October and 6 December of the same year. It focused on battery-related data sharing in real time and aimed to support EU countries in implementing the directive in line with this guidance and further specify the parameters and data that are not standardised yet. The dialogue involved the Commission, EU countries’ representatives responsible for energy and transport, the industry and relevant stakeholders. Ad hoc dialogue documents.
The Commission final notice based on the outcome of the dialogue was published on 25 July 2025.
Articles 22a,22b, and 25: RFNBOs
Lower energy costs and accelerate the energy transition
On 2 July 2025, the Commission published a recommendation and 3 guidance documents to lower energy costs and accelerate the clean energy transition. This includes a guidance document on innovative technologies and forms of renewable energy deployment, in order to tap into the potential of innovative renewable energy technologies, such as ocean energy, and of forms of renewable energy deployment, such as agrisolar. Under the guidance, EU countries should establish clear regulatory and financial frameworks to encourage their uptake and encourage continued research and innovation in the sector.
The Commission also provides several other elements to support the implementation of the Directive, including
- the Accele-RES implementation plan as announced in the European Wind Power Action Plan
- meetings of the Expert Group on permitting
- CA-RES, a project of the HORIZON2020 Programme, which allows participating countries to exchange experiences and best practices, participate in a cross-learning process and develop common approaches
In addition to these, an implementation dialogue on permitting for renewable energy projects and related infrastructure was held between Commissioner Jørgensen and stakeholders on 11 June 2025.
Timeline: EU renewable energy progress
- Q4 2026
Adoption of the post-2030 renewable energy framework
- 2022
REPowerEU Plan: new EC proposal to further raise the renewable energy target
- 2021
Fit for 55: EC proposal to revise the directive and raise the target for 2030 to 40%
- 2019
EU power production from wind and solar surpass coal for the first time
- 2018
Revised Renewable Energy Directive: 32% renewables target for 2030
- 2014
Onshore wind is cheaper than coal, gas and nuclear energy
- 2009
Renewable Energy Directive: EU target of 20% renewables by 2020 and national binding targets
- 2008
Olmedilla Photovoltaic park (Spain) - largest power plant (60MW) in the world - generates enough to power 40 000 homes/year
- 2003
Directive on biofuels and renewable fuels for transport: national targets for biofuels
- 2001
Directive on electricity production from renewables: national indicative targets
- 2000
First large-scale offshore wind farm (Denmark)
- 1997
Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy: indicative EU target of 12% renewables by 2010
- 1991
Germany introduces first feed-in-tarif for renewables
- 1991
Germany introduces first feed-in-tarif for renewables
Legislation
- Consolidated version: Revised Renewable Energy Directive (2023)
- Revised Renewable Energy Directive (EU/2023/2413)
- Proposal for an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive (COM/2022/222) (May 2022)
- Proposal for an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive to implement the ambition of the new 2030 climate target (COM/2021/ 557) (July 2021)
- Revised Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001/EU)
- Clean energy for all Europeans package
- Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC)
- News: EU agrees stronger legislation to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy (30 March 2023)
- Study: EU’s global leadership in renewables (September 2022)
- REPowerEU: affordable, secure and sustainable energy for Europe
- Study: Technical support for RES policy development and implementation (September 2021)
- Delivering on the Green Deal