What happens when wind turbines reach the end of their lifetime? WindEurope’s annual “End of Life Issues and Strategies” event (EoLIS2022) showcases the latest trends in repowering, decommissioning, dismantling and recycling of wind turbines. The latest data presented at the event shows the benefits of repowering. It nearly triples the capacity of a wind farm … Continue reading Repowering Europe’s wind farms is a win-win-win
Continue readingTag Archives: Europe
OCEaN: Speed up offshore wind and grid development with robust and timely Maritime Spatial Planning
At a joint conference on nature positive offshore energy infrastructure hosted by Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI) and WindEurope, the Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature (OCEaN) confirmed that it is possible to speed up offshore wind and related electricity grid deployment while protecting and restoring nature. Offshore wind and related electricity grid infrastructure are imperative … Continue reading OCEaN: Speed up offshore wind and grid development with robust and timely Maritime Spatial Planning
Continue readingEurope invested €41bn in wind power in 2021
WindEurope has published its annual Finance and Investment Trends report. It shows investor confidence in wind energy remains high. Europe invested €41bn in new wind farms in 2021. This is financing 25 GW of new capacity, a record. But the investments are falling well short of the 35 GW a year of new wind the … Continue reading Europe invested €41bn in wind power in 2021
Continue readingFocus on energy issues in Europe
In the wake of the Ukraine war, the issues of price and sufficient access to energy are main topics of the European cooperation. At the end of March, Vattenfall’s CEO Anna Borg has discussed the energy issue with President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in historically … Continue reading Focus on energy issues in Europe
Continue readingWithout grid improvements, Europe will fall short of its wind power and climate targets
Electrification is the most cost-effective way to decarbonise Europe’s economy. Direct and indirect electrification will make up 75% of Europe’s energy demand by 2050. The European Commission wants wind to be half of the EU’s electricity by then. However, this can only happen if power grids are optimised and expanded in a timely manner. Hitachi … Continue reading Without grid improvements, Europe will fall short of its wind power and climate targets
Continue readingEurope must not unravel its Internal Energy Market in response to the current crisis
This week European Heads of State and Government will discuss possible measures to curb the current rise in energy prices. While it’s essential national Governments shield the most vulnerable consumers and businesses from the current high energy prices, now is not the time to tamper with Europe’s electricity market rules. Only regulatory stability will incentivise … Continue reading Europe must not unravel its Internal Energy Market in response to the current crisis
Continue readingWindEurope CEO on Ukraine and the implications for Europe’s energy policy
The events of the last few weeks have shocked and saddened all of us in the wind energy community. As an industry that has companies, partners and colleagues in Ukraine, we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people in the face of Russian aggression. Our colleagues who run the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association, Andriy and … Continue reading WindEurope CEO on Ukraine and the implications for Europe’s energy policy
Continue readingWind energy in Europe: 2021 Statistics and the outlook for 2022-2026
Europe installed 17 GW (11 GW in the EU-27) of new wind capacity in 2021. This is not even half of what the EU should be building to be on tract to deliver its 2030 Climate and Energy goals. 81% of the new wind installation in Europe last year were onshore wind. Sweden, Germany, and … Continue reading Wind energy in Europe: 2021 Statistics and the outlook for 2022-2026
Continue readingElectric City 2021: Driving Europe’s electrification with wind energy
By 2050 most of the EU energy system will be electrified. Direct electrification, complemented with the indirect electrification of harder-to-abate sectors, is the most cost-effective and energy efficient way to cut energy sector emissions to net zero. WindEurope’s Annual Event “Electric City 2021”, in Copenhagen on 23-25 November, will be a perfect place for companies … Continue reading Electric City 2021: Driving Europe’s electrification with wind energy
Continue readingEurope must get its State aid rules right to have any chance of delivering climate neutrality
The European Commission is revising its 2014 State aid guidelines for environment and energy. These guidelines define what national Government can and cannot do to support climate and energy projects, notably in wind energy. The first draft of the post-2021 rules promotes a technology-neutral approach to allocating public support – based on CO2 abatement potential. … Continue reading Europe must get its State aid rules right to have any chance of delivering climate neutrality
Continue readingElectrification with wind power will bring Europe to net zero CO2
Electrification is the most cost-effective way to decarbonise Europe’s economy according to a report from ETIPWind and WindEurope out today. Wind energy will lead the process: the EU sees it being half of Europe’s electricity by 2050. With the right investments in grids and technology, the combined rate of direct and indirect electrification will be … Continue reading Electrification with wind power will bring Europe to net zero CO2
Continue readingPublic Sector Wind Power Purchase Agreements Support Europe’s Decarbonization
The Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a 22 turbine wind farm in the Port of Rotterdam that is being developed by the utility Eneco. The wind farm will be on land owned by the Rijkswaterstaat. It will generate 400 GWh of electricity a … Continue reading Public Sector Wind Power Purchase Agreements Support Europe’s Decarbonization
Continue readingMoney pouring into wind energy despite COVID, but are there enough projects out there?
Europe invested €43bn in new wind farms in 2020, the second highest annual amount on record. The investments cover 20 GW of new capacity that will be built in the coming years, 13 GW of it in the EU. But this is much less than what Europe needs to deliver its 2030 climate and energy … Continue reading Money pouring into wind energy despite COVID, but are there enough projects out there?
Continue readingEurope installed 14.7 GW of new wind energy in 2020
Europe installed 14.7 GW of new wind energy in 2020. 80% of this was onshore wind. Europe now has 220 GW of total wind energy capacity. But Europe is not building enough new wind to deliver the Green Deal and climate neutrality: the EU is set to build 15 GW per year over the next … Continue reading Europe installed 14.7 GW of new wind energy in 2020
Continue readingEurope invests a record €26bn in offshore wind energy in 2020
Despite COVID constraints, Europe confirmed a record amount of €26.3bn of investments in new offshore wind farms in 2020. This will finance 7.1 GW of new offshore wind which will be built in the coming years. Last year Europe built 2.9 GW of new offshore wind. Europe now has 25 GW of offshore wind capacity. … Continue reading Europe invests a record €26bn in offshore wind energy in 2020
Continue readingESTELA welcomes the long-awaited auction for renewable energy for the period of 2020-2025 in Spain
As expected, the total volume of 3 GW to be awarded in this first auction in Spain is split into 1 GW of wind power and 2 GW of photovoltaic (PV). As this very first auction is a non-specific tender, neither storage, manageability of delivery with a specific quota reserved for Concentrated Solar Power were … Continue reading ESTELA welcomes the long-awaited auction for renewable energy for the period of 2020-2025 in Spain
Continue readingWind energy supplies 15% of Europe’s electricity in 2020
Wind power contributed 15% of total electricity generation in Europe in 2020, the sector’s highest ever contribution to the region’s power mix, according to new analysis by EnAppSys. A total of 429 terrawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity was generated by wind farms last year, up 4% on 2019, out of a total of 2727TWh, EnAppSys said. … Continue reading Wind energy supplies 15% of Europe’s electricity in 2020
Continue readingHow is wind energy going to support economic recovery?
Wind energy is well positioned to support Europe’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The EU wants a major expansion of wind energy to deliver the Green Deal. The wind industry has proved resilient this year and is ready to deliver the investments the EU wants – all of which will create jobs and growth. Starting at … Continue reading How is wind energy going to support economic recovery?
Continue readingExpansion of onshore wind energy needed for the Green Deal
Europe wants to be climate neutral by 2050. And onshore wind power will play a central role in that. According to the European Commission‘s decarbonisation scenarios it will be a quarter of Europe’s electricity consumption by 2050. That requires a 4-fold increase in the volume of onshore wind capacity between now and then. The European … Continue reading Expansion of onshore wind energy needed for the Green Deal
Continue readingWind energy and economic recovery in Europe
October saw the launch of our new report – “Wind energy and economic recovery in Europe”. It shows you can combine European economic recovery with a successful energy transition – specifically, that the expansion of wind energy can help power recovery, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and supporting communities across Europe. The key messages … Continue reading Wind energy and economic recovery in Europe
Continue reading