Renewable energy share in heating and cooling in Czechia rises above EU average

The share of renewable energy used for heating and cooling in Czechia has risen over the past 20 years from 10 percent to 26 percent. This puts the country slightly above the EU average. Sweden uses the most renewable energy for heating and cooling in the EU, at 69 percent, according to Eurostat statistics.

The share of renewables is also rising in electricity generation. Last year, it reached a record 30.3 percent worldwide, up 0.9 percentage points from the previous year, the Ember think tank said this week. Despite a recent increase in renewable generation, Czechia still lags behind the EU overall. Renewables account for around 19 percent of total energy consumption in the Czech Republic.

Over the past 20 years, the share of renewables in heating and cooling in the Czech Republic has increased 2.5-fold. The EU average is 25 percent, putting Czechia slightly above it. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions from heating homes and apartments in Czechia have fallen by 19 percent since 2010.

According to the data, the share of renewable energy is growing across Europe. Renewables account for the largest share of heating and cooling in the Nordic countries. Sweden has a renewable energy share of 69 percent, Estonia 65 percent, Lithuania 61 percent and Finland 58 percent. Among non-EU countries, Iceland leads with a share of more than 80 percent.

„The Nordic countries have a long tradition and a huge advantage in using energy from natural resources, and they also make extensive use of biomass for heating. By contrast, developed Western European countries are still largely dependent on coal, while also dealing with older housing stock that, as in the Czech Republic, needs renovation, insulation and other measures to prevent heat loss,“ said Ondřej Boreš of Velux. Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium are among the countries where the use of natural resources is below 10 percent.

Experts expect the share of renewables to continue growing. EU countries have previously committed to increasing the share used for heating and cooling by at least 0.8 percentage points per year between 2021 and 2025, with the pace set to accelerate in the following years. Between 2026 and 2030, the annual growth in the share is to be 1.1 percentage points. Czechia also aims to accelerate the increase through subsidy programmes, for example for renewable energy installations and building renovations.