According to first estimates by WindEurope, Europe built 15 GW of new wind energy in 2024. Of those, 13 GW were onshore and 2.3 GW were offshore. The EU accounted for 13 GW of this: 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. To reach its 2030 energy and climate targets, the EU should be building 30 GW of new wind farms a year.

Wind generated 20 percent of all electricity consumed in Europe – and 19 percent in the EU. The EU wants this percentage to grow to 34 percent by 2030 and more than 50 percent by 2050.

“Europe is not building enough new wind farms. For 3 main reasons – a) most Governments are not applying the good EU permitting rules – they’ve got to follow Germany’s example here; b) new grid connections are delayed; and c) Europe is not electrifying its economy quickly enough. The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power which means increased competitiveness”,

says WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.

EU permitting rules must be implemented

Slow and cumbersome permitting remains a key hurdle to the expansion of wind energy. Despite the forced entry into binding new EU permitting rules, many countries have not yet implemented them into national law. The permitting situation has actually worsened in 2024.

However, it has been proven by the few countries that applied the EU permitting rules—binding permitting deadlines and the principle of overriding public interest—how effective those measures are. Take Germany as an example: they permitted almost 15 GW of new onshore wind. That’s a new national record and 7 times more than five years ago. Governments must follow Germany’s example if they are serious about energy security and industrial competitiveness.

Lack in grids and slow electrification blunt growth in wind installations

Getting access to the electricity grid is the number one bottleneck to deploying wind energy. Immediate action is needed to unblock grid capacity. Currently, more than 500 GW of potential wind energy capacity are waiting for an assessment of their grid connection applications.

But it’s not only the grid connection queues. Europe is generally not expanding its electricity grids fast enough. One negative example stands out: the 900 MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in Germany is fully installed but waiting for a grid connection. The Transmission System Operator will not be able to connect the wind farm to the German grid before 2026.

Similarly, Europe is not electrifying its economy fast enough. 23 percent of all energy consumed in the EU is electricity. This needs to increase to 61 percent by 2050. Electrification rates are stalling, especially in mobility, heating, and industry. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen to present an Electrification Action Plan.

Governments awarding more wind farms in their auctions

Europe awarded more new wind capacity in government auctions than ever before. The 37 GW awarded (29 GW awarded in the EU) are a record and are in theory good news for the future pipeline and built-out. But urgent action is needed on permitting, grids, and electrification in order to deliver a substantial increase in annual build-out rates.

31bn Euro investments announced in 2024—not enough

Europe financed an estimated 19 GW of new wind energy in 2024, slightly down on the 21 GW financed in 2023. This includes robust onshore wind investments of 24bn Euro. Offshore wind investments were significantly down in 2023. It remains a challenge to take final investment decisions for offshore wind farms.

PPA – huge corporate appetite for wind energy

Wind energy continues to attract growing interest from corporate electricity consumers. Corporates understand the business case for sourcing wind power. 50 percent of all electricity contracted under new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in Europe was wind in 2024. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.

 

Source: WindEurope


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