Despite the increasing amount of literature available on renewable energy, the empirical analysis about drivers promoting renewables remains scarce. We have analyzed those drivers for European Countries. Over an extended period of time (1990-2006) we used panel data techniques, namely the fixed effects vector decomposition. The results suggest that both the lobby of the traditional energy sources (oil, coal, and natural gas) and CO2 emissions restrain renewable deployment. The objective of reducing energy dependency appears to stimulate renewable energy use. Our results robustly support the EU decision to create a directive promoting the use of renewable sources (Directive 2001/77/EC). We also offer suggestions with regards to the design of appropriate policies towards renewable energy deployment. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.