Europe's Renewable Energy Potential

According to the Paris Agreement all signatory countries should increase the market share of renewable energy to at least 20% of the total energy market. According to a new interactive map this is potentially achievable by all European countries. The Possibility for Electricity Autarky map shows the potential that every country in Europe has for producing all its electricity demands from renewable energy.

Countries on the map are colored based on their potential for generating all their electricity needs from renewable energy sources. Therefore, according to the map, every European country is capable of meeting 100% of electricity demand with renewable electricity, generated locally from wind and solar power. If you hover over a country on the map you can view the country's population, electricity demand and how much electricity potential there is from local wind and solar power.

If you zoom in on the map you can view the potential for renewable energy within individual administrative areas within European countries. At this zoom level you can begin to see areas where renewable energy doesn't have the potential to meet demand. Many of these areas appear to be urban areas which are densely populated. I'm guessing this is due to the higher numbers of electricity consumers combined with less room for wind and solar power generation.

The data used to create the map comes from the peer-reviewed article, Home-made or imported: on the possibility for renewable electricity autarky on all scales in Europe.