Finland third for EU renewables use

LEHTIKUVA PEKKA-SAKKI  

Where there's a wind, there's a way. Finland ranks third among EU member states for the proportion of its total energy consumption coming from renewable sources.

With 34.3 per cent of Finnish energy currently coming from renewables, Finland takes third place behind Sweden (51 per cent) and Latvia (35.8 per cent) according to the latest EU statistics.

In 2012, energy from renewable sources was estimated to have contributed 14.1 per cent of gross final energy consumption in the 28 countries of the European Union.

The goal is to increase this to 20 per cent by 2020 but different countries have specific targets based on their starting point, renewable energy potential and economic performance.

Sweden, Estonia and Bulgaria have already reached their assigned targets, while Finland’s target is a 38 per cent share.

Renewable energy sources cover solar, thermal and photovoltaic energy, hydro (including tide, wave and ocean energy), wind, geothermal energy and biomass.