This paper gives a general review on renewable electricity production in the European Union based on the example of Sweden, Denmark and Germany. It gives the answer to the question which forms of renewable electricity production are competitive in Europe and why. Furthermore it describes how and why renewables are used in different member states of the EU. This review is based on existing literature on the subject, statistical data of national and international organisations and departments as well as recent articles in journals and newspapers. As a result it becomes clear that there are different boundaries to the use of renewable electricity production in the EU due to specific demands for an economic use. But even though these demands are met, the success of renewable electricity production depends on several factors like the historic development and the supply of fossil resources, political support or external events such as the oil crisis. It also becomes clear that the use of renewables can cause environmental problems (hydropower) or problems in the field of security of supply (grid stability). One can draw the conclusion that countries with a continuous support system in the past are performing well in the objective to increase the share of power produced by renewables and serve as good example for countries lagging behind in this goal.