October the 5th, 2026 – Croatia has ranked an impressive 3rd in the EU for its renewable energy, with solar energy being the most important source in 2026’s second quarter.
Renewable energy sources produced more than half of the electricity in the European Union in the second quarter of 2026. Marin Penavic reports for Poslovni that according to Eurostat data, their share in total production reached 54.1 percent, which is still slightly less than in the same period last year, when it stood at 54.3 percent.
Differences among EU Member States are very pronounced, at the top is Latvia, where as much as 97.7 percent of the electricity produced came from renewable sources. Denmark follows with a share of 94.3 percent, while Croatia ranks third with 92.2 percent. In Latvia the largest contribution comes from hydro power and solar, in Denmark wind energy dominates, while Croatia’s result relies primarily on hydro power plants.
Infographic shows the ten European Union Member States with the highest share of electricity produced from renewable sources in total electricity produced. At the top are Latvia with 97.7 percent of electricity, Denmark with 94.3 percent and Croatia with 92.2 percent. At the bottom of the list is Germany with 63.8 percent.
Among the countries with the highest shares of renewable electricity are also Austria, Estonia, Portugal and Lithuania, which means that countries with large hydro power potential, but also those that have strongly developed wind farms and solar energy, particularly stand out at the top of the European ranking. At the level of the entire EU, solar energy was the most important renewable source in the second quarter, with 41.6 percent of total renewable production. It was followed by wind with 27.7 percent and hydro power with 22.6 percent, while other renewable sources had a significantly smaller share.
At the same time, the data show that the transition towards renewable sources is not equally fast in all parts of the Union. While in Latvia their share almost reached 100 percent, at the bottom are Slovakia with 19.8 percent, Czechia with 20.9 percent and Malta with 24.5 percent. Eurostat notes that this indicator refers to the share of renewable sources in net electricity production and should not be equated with the share of renewable energy in gross final consumption, which is calculated according to a different methodology.
