The bloc as a whole is endeavouring to reach 82 percent clean energy by 2030. But a handful of EU nations are accelerating fossil fuel phase-outs, looking to reach 100 percent clean power by the end of the decade, according to independent energy think tank Ember.
Portugal: In Spring this year, Portugal announced that it was accelerating its energy transition, aiming to increase the proportion of power produced by renewables in the country to 80 percent by 2026 - four years earlier than previously planned. It already gets 60 percent of its electricity from clean sources - one of the highest in Europe.
Portugal is already coal free, after shutting down its last coal-fired power plant in 2021. The Iberian nation's largest utility company, EDP, is aiming to provide 100 percent renewable power by the end of the decade. All of this puts Portugal on track to becoming fossil fuel free by 2030, according to Ember.
Netherlands: According to research published by industry experts Oliver Wyman earlier this year, the Netherlands is leading Europe’s energy transition. Offshore wind power generation is set to double by the end of the decade with a goal for 150 GW of electricity production in the North Sea by 2050 - enough to power 230 million European homes. That's about 28 times the number of homes in the Netherlands.
Though, in the meantime, the nation is aiming for 100 percent clean power by 2030 - but not all of that will be from renewables. While renewables include sources of energy that can replenish themselves like wind and solar, clean power encompasses all sources of electricity that don't produce carbon emissions such as nuclear.
Denmark: The Danish government is planning to phase out natural gas entirely and quadruple the production of solar and wind power. Though the output of natural gas may increase in the short term to help Europe wean itself off of Russian fossil fuels, the country says plans to terminate production haven’t changed. By upping the energy produced by clean sources, Denmark, like the Netherlands, expects to become a renewable power exporter. By 2030, the country expects to be capable of 100 percent renewable power production.
Austria: In 2021, the Austrian National Parliament introduced the Renewable Energy Sources Expansion Act. It set the goal for the country to use 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030. Around €260 million of investment will see one million roofs producing solar electricity and an increase in wind and hydro power. There will be special grants to support clean technologies with €1 billion to be invested annually in the expansion of renewables by 2030.