By the end of the decade, 42.5 percent of the energy consumed in the EU should come from renewables. To achieve this, wind power must, among other things, be significantly expanded.
In 2023, more wind turbines were built in the EU than ever before in one year. According to preliminary figures, new wind farms with an output of 17 gigawatts were built, as the wind industry association WindEurope announced.
For comparison: Large coal-fired power plants such as Datteln 4 have a capacity of over one gigawatt. According to this, the majority of 14 gigawatts of power was built on land, while 3 gigawatts of power was generated at sea. Germany has built the most new wind capacity, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden.
Expansion not sufficient
Although so much new wind capacity has never been built in a single year in the EU, the expansion is not sufficient, the association said. In purely mathematical terms, it is far below the 30 gigawatts per year that the EU has to build to achieve its climate and energy security goals for 2030.
By 2030, renewable energy is expected to account for 42.5 percent of total energy consumption in the EU. In order to achieve this goal, wind power must be significantly expanded within the international community. According to the EU Commission, capacities must be more than doubled: more than 500 gigawatts of installed capacity will be necessary by 2030. According to WindEurope, 221 gigawatts were installed at the end of 2023.
In order to promote the expansion of wind power, the Commission presented a wind power package in October. According to the Brussels authority, the national approval procedures are to be more digitized. The EU countries should also be better supported in the procedures: Among other things, there should be financial support for the training of authorities. It currently takes several years across Europe from the application to the construction of wind turbines.
The measures would help increase annual expansion, according to WindEurope. Implementation at the national level is crucial. According to the association, the share of wind energy in total electricity generation in Europe was 19 percent last year.
Source: Stern
