The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) released a report this week saying the European Union will not only reach its target of meeting 20% of total energy needs from renewable sources... but that most countries will exceed this goal.
The vast majority of states in the EU (25 of 27 nations) expect to be using renewable sources for at least one-fifth of their national energy consumption by 2020.
Fifteen European nations expect to exceed their target, Spain and Germany among them.
The front-runner for renewable sources in the EU's plan is wind; fourteen percent of the total energy demand will be met through wind energy.
Other top sources of energy include biomass (6.6%), solar (2.7%) and hydropower (10.5%).
Projections are based on action plans for each member nation, submitted by governments to the European Commission.
As for the countries which lag in meeting their national target within the decade?
The national plans for Italy and Luxembourg — who will miss the mark by 0.9% and 2.1% respectively — include importing renewable energy from their neighbors to compensate.
Brigid
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