European Union to Meet Goal Of 20 Percent of Energy from Renewables

By 2020, the European Union will meet its goal of generating 20 percent of its electricity from wind, solar, and other renewable sources of energy, according to the European Wind Energy Association. The group said that 14 of the EU’s 27 member states will meet the 20 percent goal, eight will exceed it, and five will fall short, though only by one percent. One of the continent’s leaders in renewable energy is Spain, which expects to be producing 23 percent of its electricity from wind and solar power by 2020. Germany, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, and Sweden also are expected to exceed the 20 percent target. Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, and Bulgaria will fall short of the 20 percent goal. Denmark, a leader in renewable energy production, said it will fall short of its goal of deriving 30 percent of its electricity from green sources by 2020. In 2008, many countries said they expected not to meet the 20-percent standard, but a boom in solar and wind production has helped the EU make strong progress toward the continent-wide target.