What is the energy profile of the EU?

The EU consumed 73.7 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy, i.e. 17 percent of the world’s total energy consumption. <br\> The EU’s dominant fuel is oil, accounting for 40 percent of total EU energy consumption. Over the past decade, natural gas has been the fastest growing fuel source in the EU. Natural gas accounts for 24 percent of EU energy consumption. The increase in natural gas consumption has been mainly at the expense of coal, whose share declined from 20 percent in 1991 to 13 percent in 2003.<br\> Environmental concerns are a major reason for the decline in the use of coal, most evident in the EU’s Directive 2001/80/EC, which seeks to limit air pollutants produced from large coal-fired combustion plants. The Directive requires all thermal power generators with at least 50 megawatt (MW) of capacity to reduce their nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions or face closure. Generators deciding not to comply will only be allowed to operate for 20,000 hours after the Directive comes into force in 2008. The EU carbon emissions trading scheme, which began in January 2005, limits the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) power generators can emit, further decreasing the probability of expanded coal use in current EU member countries. Other factors in coal’s decline include the increased availability of natural gas supplies from Russia, Norway, and Algeria by pipeline, as well as increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Nigeria. <br\>

Nuclear power currently accounts for 14 percent of total EU energy consumption. A group of EU countries including Austria, Denmark, Portugal and Spain are opposed to using nuclear power in the EU as an energy source. Conversely, countries (Italy, Germany, Sweden, UK and the Netherlands) that were formerly opposed and/or had bans against using nuclear power are now rethinking and supporting nuclear development. <br\>

Hydroelectric power accounts for approximately 4 percent of total EU power consumption. Although other “renewables” (geothermal, biomass, solar, and wind) constitute only 2 percent of total EU energy consumption, wind power has made great strides over the past decade. At the end of 2004, the EU had installed wind capacity of over 34,000 MW, according to the data published by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). Wind energy is playing a critical role in EU attempts to generate 22 percent of the region’s electricity from renewables and to reduce carbon emissions by 2020. EWEA expects installed wind capacity in the EU to reach 75,000 MW by 2010

source:http://www.eoearth.org/article/Energy_profile_of_the_European_Union