Sweden’s energy supply now over 50 percent renewable
Last year 51 percent of Sweden’s energy supply was from renewable energy sources. Sweden has reached the renewable energy target set in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) eight years ahead of time. The EU target for Sweden is 49 percent in 2020 and the Swedish parliament has adopted a target of 50 percent in 2020.
This is a fantastic development, which illustrates that it is much easier to transform the energy system in a sustainable direction than many believe is possible. It is now important that the Swedish government and parliament set even more ambitious targets, says Gustav Melin, CEO of Svebio, the Swedish Bioenergy Association.
The main reason for the Swedish success story on renewables is the use of general incentives like the carbon tax, introduced in 1991. The carbon tax has strengthened the state budget and lead to investments and thousands of new jobs in the local jobs markets, adds Gustav Melin.
Svebio has calculated the share of renewable energy according to RED based on recently published preliminary statistics from the Swedish Energy Agency. The main renewable energy sources in Sweden are bioenergy and hydropower. Bioenergy accounts for almost a third of Sweden’s energy use, and hydropower accounts for almost half of Sweden’s electricity supply. Wind power and geothermal heat pumps each supply less than 5 percent of the renewable energy, and solar energy less than one percent.
Hydropower is calculated according to the EU rule of “normal production”. If the actual production in 2012 was included, the renewable energy share would be even higher, or 53 percent.
For more information contact:
Gustav Melin, phone +46-8-4417081, or Kjell Andersson +46-8-4417087.
http://www.aebiom.org
Swedish Bioenergy Association
