Where does the electricity for charging come from?
Half of the households with a car in the street have a green electricity tariff. The other half buy the standard mix.
The public charger at the corner shows a small leaf: 100% renewable.
The questionHow green is the electricity in these cars?
renewable share of all electricity consumed
the year before
renewable share of all energy consumed
the year before
From Eurostat's renewable energy statistics.
Contracts and timing
A green tariff decides what a household or an operator buys and pays for. Physically, every kilowatt-hour in the street comes from the same mix. What charging can change is its timing: moved into hours with more wind and solar, it draws on a greener mix than the yearly average.
Data by the hour
- At public chargers, requires operators to publish, as dynamic data, whether the electricity supplied is 100% renewable.
- For the grid, RED III requires transmission operators to publish the share of renewable electricity and its emissions content per bidding zone, in intervals of no more than one hour, readable also by charge points.
With such data, a charger can follow not only the price but also the renewable share of the hour.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
What was the renewable share of EU gross electricity consumption in 2025?
Eurostat reports 49.9% for electricity in 2025, up from 47.5%; 26.2% is the renewable share of all energy.
What does RED III ask transmission operators to publish for each bidding zone?
Article 20a(1): renewable share and greenhouse gas emissions content per bidding zone, in intervals of no more than one hour.
What does AFIR require operators to publish about renewable electricity?
It is part of the dynamic data under Article 20: 100% renewable, yes or no.
- AFIR Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804: EU rules for public charging, from payment to coverage. EV charging fundamentals, stop 08 Glossary
- Eurostat: Renewable energy statistics, data extracted on 13 July 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Renewable_energy_statistics. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Reused under the Eurostat copyright notice; shares and ratios calculated by emobility.education, Eurostat is not responsible for them.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 5 and 20. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2023/2413 (RED III), Article 20a inserted into Directive (EU) 2018/2001. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/2413/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.