In Albania, 21.2% of the energy used for heating and cooling in 2022 came from renewable sources, close to the EU average of 22.9%, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
Albania produces almost all of its energy from hydropower, but as production is seasonal and there is no storage capacity, much is exported. This means the government has to buy energy from fossil fuels during periods when demand is high.
While Albania’s share of renewables is far from countries like Sweden which has almost 70% of all heating and cooling energy from renewable sources, it does better than Italy, Hungary, Spain and Germany, Monitor reports.
Energy for heating and cooling, according to Eurostat, represents almost 50% of the EU’s total gross final energy consumption. In absolute terms, the gross final consumption of renewable energy for heating and cooling purposes in the EU has gradually increased over time, mainly due to the contribution of biomass and heat pumps.
“However, for 2021, gross consumption of all fuels also increased mainly due to the economic recovery following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, the share of renewable energy in gross final consumption for heating and cooling purposes decreased by 0.1 percentage point (pp), from 23.0% in 2020 to 22.9% in 2021. This is almost double the value in 2004 (11.7%).
Developments in the industrial sector, services and households (including the electrification of heating using heat pumps) contributed to the growth of renewable energy in heating and cooling,” the Eurostat announcement said.
The lowest percentages of renewable sources for heating and cooling were recorded in Ireland (5.2%), the Netherlands (7.7%) and Belgium (9.2%).
All EU countries reported an increase from 2004 to 2021. The highest increases were recorded in Cyprus (+32.1 percentage points; pp), followed by Malta (+30.3 pp), Estonia ( +28.0 pp) and Sweden (+22.7 pp). Smaller increases were recorded in Ireland (+2.3 pp), Belgium (+6.3 pp) and the Netherlands (+5.5 pp).
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Source: euractiv.com
