Malta’s share of electricity supplied by renewable sources has remained the lowest in the EU for 20 years in a row, recent Eurostat data shows.
Just 11% of the country’s electricity needs were met by renewables in 2023, the most recent year for data available. This is the lowest share in the EU and one-quarter of the European average.
That year, Czechia was the second lowest (16%), followed by Luxembourg (18%) and Hungary (20%). Norway, meanwhile, generated more renewable electricity than it consumed, hitting 117% of its total electricity usage. Austria and Sweden were in second and third place, respectively, with both their shares of renewable electricity reaching 88%.
The EU average was 45%. Malta’s recent result is far from an isolated one; Eurostat data going back to 2004 – the year Malta joined the EU – reveals the country has consistently reported the lowest share of renewable electricity across the bloc.
It was only in 2010 that the country first reported renewable energy being used for electricity, when the proportion of renewables was 0.03%. Since then, it has climbed steadily but slowly upwards, first peaking above 5% in 2016 and reaching 10% in 2021.
While some countries have seen their share of renewable electricity increase by a similar amount to Malta in recent years – Italy, Ireland and Romania, for example, saw comparable increases to Malta’s four percentage point increase between 2019 and 2023 – others saw a much more rapid improvement.
Hungary, Cyprus and Lithuania doubled their share of renewable electricity during the same period, while the Netherlands saw its share increase by two-and-a-half times.
Meanwhile, Czechia, Slovakia and Latvia saw slower improvements than Malta, increasing their share of renewable electricity by two percentage points or less. While Latvia only increased its share by one percentage point, in 2023 it still generated more than half of its electricity from renewables.
The growth in renewable electricity over the past decade was largely achieved by the expansion of wind and solar power. Solar power is the fastest-growing source
Still, 2023 was a “record-breaking” year for renewable electricity in general, Eurostat said. That year, the continent’s average share of renewable electricity rose by a “significant” four percentage points, the largest increase since reporting began in 2004, it said.
Wind (39%) and hydropower (28%) accounted for more than two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources, with solar power contributing one-fifth (21%), the report noted.
“The growth in renewable electricity over the past decade was largely achieved by the expansion of wind and solar power. Solar power is the fastest-growing source,” it said.
Since 2014, the share of renewable electricity has increased by more than half on average across the EU, the data shows.
Other renewable sources of electricity include geothermal energy, heat pumps, biofuels and renewable municipal waste.
Malta has offered incentives to install solar panels as far back as at least 2005, that year including a 20% rebate on initial investment.
Applicants have been able to apply for rebates of 50% since at least 2018.