European Electricity Review 2022: Methodology

This document outlines the methodology used by Ember for the European Electricity Review 2022, detailing the data sources, definitions, and calculation methods for electricity generation, capacity, and carbon intensity across European countries from 2000 to 2021.

• The report analyzes electricity generation data by fuel for 32 countries with full-year data up to 2021, including all EU-27 members except Malta. Data from 2000 to 2019 is sourced from Eurostat annual data, while 2020 and 2021 estimates are derived by adding monthly net generation changes to the 2019 baseline.
• Fuel data is categorized into ten types: Biomass, Gas, Hard Coal, Hydro, Lignite, Nuclear, Other Fossil, Other Renewables, Solar, and Wind. While bioenergy is classified as a renewable in line with IPCC standards, the document notes that current EU sustainability criteria may not sufficiently regulate high-risk feedstocks, meaning bioenergy cannot be automatically assumed to provide the same climate benefits as wind or solar.
• The methodology employs various data sources to address gaps or inaccuracies in the ENTSO-E transparency platform. For example, data for the United Kingdom is sourced from the University of Birmingham Energy Informatics Group's ESPENI publication following Brexit, and data for the Netherlands is taken from the Statistics Netherlands (CBS) API due to suspected double counting in ENTSO-E renewables data.
• Generation capacity is sourced from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) for renewables and nuclear, and from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) for coal and gas. Carbon intensity for 2000-2019 is based on European Environment Agency (EEA) and Eurostat data, while 2020 and 2021 emissions are estimated using standard factors: 830gCO2eq/KWh for hard coal, 1100gCO2eq/KWh for lignite, 370gCO2eq/KWh for fossil gas, and 700gCO2eq/KWh for other fossil fuels.

APA

Ember (2022). European Electricity Review 2022: Methodology. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/02/EER-Methodology.pdf

Chicago

Ember. European Electricity Review 2022: Methodology. 2022. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/02/EER-Methodology.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=European Electricity Review 2022: Methodology |date=2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/02/EER-Methodology.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2022european, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{European Electricity Review 2022: Methodology}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2022}, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2022/02/EER-Methodology.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }