Fossil fuels accounted for nearly 30% of electricity production in the European Union (EU) in 2025, while renewable energy remained the bloc’s leading source of power.
Preliminary Eurostat data show that fossil fuels generated 29.6% of EU electricity during the year. That was up slightly from 28.9% in 2024, despite a longer-term shift toward renewable and other low-carbon sources.
Renewables remained the largest part of the EU electricity mix, supplying 47.2% of production. Nuclear power supplied 23.2%.
The EU-wide figures, however, mask major differences between member states. Some countries still depend heavily on fossil fuels for electricity, while others use them for only a small share of their power.
Malta and Cyprus record the highest fossil fuel shares
Eurostat’s 2025 country comparison shows Malta had the EU’s highest share of fossil fuels in electricity production, at about 84%. Cyprus followed at roughly 73%.
At the other end of the scale, Sweden generated only about 2% of its electricity from fossil fuels in 2025, the lowest share in the EU. Finland followed at about 3%.
Sweden relies heavily on hydropower and nuclear energy, with wind power also playing an important role. Finland’s electricity mix includes nuclear power, wind, hydropower and other renewable sources.
Greece, meanwhile, has rapidly expanded its own renewable capacity, including record additions of solar power, even as natural gas remains important to its electricity system.
Solar grows as hydro and wind output decline
The shift toward cleaner electricity continued in 2025, but output changed considerably among individual renewable sources. Across Greece, the growth of renewables has also brought new challenges involving storage, grid capacity and electricity prices, even as solar and wind production has expanded.
In 2025, fossil fuels accounted for 29% of the EU's electricity production.⚡🏭
Highest in:
🇲🇹Malta (84%)
🇨🇾Cyprus (73%)Lowest in:
🇸🇪Sweden (2%)
🇫🇮Finland (3%)Read more 👉 https://t.co/n9lazxY6jK pic.twitter.com/d8kP808gsw
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) August 18, 2026
Solar photovoltaic generation rose 19.2% from the previous year. Hydropower output fell 11.7%, while wind generation declined 2%. At the same time, electricity generated from natural gas increased 8.6%, helping drive the rise in fossil fuel generation.
Natural gas remained the most important fossil fuel for electricity production. It generated 481.4 terawatt-hours in 2025, or 17.1% of EU electricity. Nuclear power was the largest individual source at 650.6 terawatt-hours, or 23.1%. Wind followed closely behind natural gas at 480.2 terawatt-hours, also equal to about 17.1% of total production.
The small rise in fossil fuel generation in 2025 did not reverse the broader shift in Europe’s electricity system. In 2023, fossil fuels accounted for about 31% of EU electricity production, compared with 29.6% in 2025. Renewables supplied about 44% in 2023 and more than 47% two years later.
Greece has also taken steps to accelerate that transition, including EU-backed investment in clean technologies and efforts to reduce fossil fuel dependence on its islands.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
