Wind power in the European Union

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Wind power installed in Europe by the end of 2013

As of December 2014, installed capacity of wind power in the European Union totaled 128,751 megawatts (MW). The EU wind industry has had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% between the years 2000 and 2013. In 2014, a total of 11,791 MW of wind power was installed, representing 32% of all new power capacity. In a normal wind year the wind power capacity installed by early 2014 would produce 257 TWh of electricity, enough to supply 8% of the EU’s electricity consumption.[1]

In the future, wind power is likely to continue to grow in the European Union. According to a European Environment Agency report, wind energy can play a major role in achieving the European renewable energy targets.[2]

The European Wind Energy Association estimates that 230 gigawatts (GW) of wind capacity will be installed in Europe by 2020, consisting of 190 GW onshore and 40 GW offshore. This would produce 14-17% of the EU's electricity, avoiding 333 million tonnes of CO2 per year and saving Europe €28 billion a year in avoided fuel costs.[3][4]

Research from a wide variety of sources in various European countries shows that support for wind power is consistently about 80 per cent among the general public.[5]

By country

Denmark

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Main article: Wind power in Denmark
Offshore wind turbines near Copenhagen

Wind power in Denmark provides some 39 percent of Danish domestic electricity[6][7] and Denmark is a leading wind power nation in the world. The Danes were pioneers in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s and today almost half of the wind turbines around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as Vestas and Siemens Wind Power.[8]

The Danish wind turbine industry is the world’s largest and 90% of the wind turbines manufactured in Denmark are sold to international markets. In 2003, the Danish manufacturers had a total world market share of approximately 38%, generating a combined turnover of almost 3 billion Euro and maintaining over 20,000 people employed in the industry, from wind turbine factories to maintenance and research.[8]

The development of wind power in Denmark has been characterised by a close collaboration between publicly financed research and industry in key areas such as research and development, certification, testing, and the preparation of standards.[7]

Estonia

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Main article: Wind power in Estonia
Wind farm of Hanila, Lääne County

As of 2013, the installed capacity of wind power in Estonia was 269.4 MW,[9] while roughly 1466.5 MW[10] worth of projects are currently being developed and three major offshore projects with total capacity of 1490 MW are being planned. Estonia, as a country, which is widely open to the sea and has a flat territory, possesses a very high potential for the development of wind energy.[11]

According to a survey carried out by the Estonian Ministry of the Environment, 95% of the respondents considered wind power as the most environmentally friendly way to produce energy.[12]

Germany

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Main article: Wind power in Germany
Wind farm in Neuenkirchen

Wind power plays an important role in Germany's renewable energy mix. In October 2014, the installed domestic capacity amounted to 35,678 megawatts, of which offshore contributed 616 MW.[13]

In 2014, wind generated more than 51 terawatt-hours of electricity and contributed about 9.7% to the nations total net-generated electricity. This is 1.3% more than the year before. December 2014 was the best month, generating 8.9 TWh and on par with record-breaking month of December 2011. Along with the generated electricity of 18.5 TWh (3.5%) from hydro, 32.8 TWh (6.2%) from solar, and 54 TWh (10.0%) from biomass, all four renewable energy sources generated 154 TWh or about 30% of the nation's total net-generation. Electricity production from combined wind and solar has now achieved almost the level of nuclear power (84.2 TWh vs. 91.8 TWh).[14]

More than 21,607 wind turbines are located in the German federal area and the country has plans to build more wind turbines.[15][16] As of 2011, Germany's federal government is working on a new plan for increasing renewable energy commercialization,[17] with a particular focus on offshore wind farms.[18]

Greece

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Main article: Wind power in Greece

Wind power in Greece was due to expand by 352% by 2010 to meet the European target of 20% coverage of energy needs from renewable sources. Previously, there were 1,028 wind turbines installed throughout Greece and the number was set to reach 2,587 wind turbines before the end of 2010.[19]

According to the Ministry of Environment and Public Works, the system would have a nameplate capacity of 3,372MW of power from wind alone compared to 746MW at the end of 2006.[20] Greece chose to invest primarily to wind power by 77%, while the rest of renewable sources altogether comprise the remaining 23% of production with hydroelectric power being second with 11%.[21][22]

Ireland

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Main article: Wind power in the Republic of Ireland

Ireland is the best location in Europe for wind power as it is situated on the Western edge of Europe and is exposed to high winds from the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea. Wind power capacity factors tend to be higher in Ireland than anywhere else. By the end of 2014 the installed capacity of wind power in Ireland was 2,111 megawatts,[23] generating 19% of Ireland's electrical power.

Most wind farms in Ireland are located in coastal regions and especially in the West of Ireland. However, the Irish Sea is getting some attention and the first offshore wind farm in Ireland is located a few kilometers north of Arklow and 10 km out to sea and is known as the Arklow Bank Wind Park. This is set to expand in the future. Other proposals are an offshore wind farm on the Kish Bank which is about 15 kilometers offshore from Dublin, the capital city. With another planned wind farm at Clogherhead (north of Drogheda, south of Dundalk), to be called the Oriel Wind Farm.The Codling windfarm, planned for the south Irish Sea, will have a capacity of 1100 MW with 330 turbines, giving a huge boost to wind generated power in Ireland.

Lithuania

The Lithuanian government is planning on mimicking Baltic neighbor Denmark, which generates 20 percent of its energy with wind turbines. Lithuanian government have plans to build 200 megawatts of renewable energy by 2010 in wind turbines.[24]

Romania

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Main article: Wind power in Romania
File:Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm 2011.jpg
The 600-MW Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm in Romania

As of 2014, wind power in Romania has an installed capacity of about 2,954 MW,[1] up from the 14 MW installed capacity in 2009.[25] Romania has a high wind power potential of around 14,000 MW (second highest in the EU after Scotland) and a power generating capacity of 23 TWh. The main regions of great potential of wind are Dobrogea and Moldavia.

Aerial view of the Sierra de Gredos in Spain

Spain

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Main article: Wind power in Spain

In 2011, Spain was Europe's leading producer of wind energy and ranked second only behind Germany in terms of installed capacity. In 2012, domestic capacity amounted to 22,785 MW.[26][27] Wind power alone covered 16.6% of the total electricity demand in Spain in 2010 (according to Red Eléctrica de España, the Spanish system operator) and continues as the third technology in the system, after nuclear power and combined cycles. Wind energy’s installed capacity could meet the electricity needs of two thirds of Spanish households. In 2010, the electricity sector reduced its CO2 emissions by 26% thanks to wind energy.[28][29] "Spain holds these positions as a result of the establishment of a stable regulatory framework, better understanding of the resource, and improved technology that have afforded considerable cost reduction in terms of initial investment, maintenance, and exploitation".[28]

United Kingdom

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Main articles: Wind power in the United Kingdom and Wind power in Scotland

At the beginning of 2013, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was 8,445 megawatts (MW), with 362 operational wind farms and 4,158 wind turbines in the United Kingdom.[30] The United Kingdom is ranked as the world's eighth largest producer of wind power.

1.8 GW of new wind power capacity was brought online during 2012, a 30% increase of the total UK installed capacity. 2012 was a significant year for the offshore wind industry with 4 large wind farms becoming operational with over 1.1 GW of generating capability coming on stream.[31]

Through the Renewables Obligation, British electricity suppliers are now required by law to provide a proportion of their sales from renewable sources such as wind power or pay a penalty fee. The supplier then receives a Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each MW·h of electricity they have purchased.[32] Within the United Kingdom, wind power is the second largest source of renewable energy after biomass.[33]

Wind power is expected to continue growing in the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future – RenewableUK estimated in 2010 that more than 2,000 MW of capacity would be deployed per year for the next five years.[34] By 2020, the United Kingdom is expected to have more than 28,000 MW of wind capacity.[35]

Europe’s Wind Energy Event

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Further information: EWEA

In the Europe’s Premier Wind Energy Event February 2013 wind was evaluated by Robert Clover from MAKE Consulting as the cheapest electricity technology after 2020 meeting 50% of electricity demand in Europe by 2050.[36] According to Fatih Birol, Chief Economist at the International Energy Agency, without phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, the EU will not reach its climate targets. The fossil fuel subsidies were half a trillion dollars in 2011. The biggest challenges of wind energy is the lack of predictability of government policies, and not the lack of predictability of wind power, according to Birol. Retroactive policy changes have also undermined investment in renewable energy projects.[37] The European wind industry needs skilled workforce.[38] The EU wind energy capacity in the end of 2012 was 105.6 GW. Renewable energy represented 69% of new power capacity in 2012, while fuel oil, coal and nuclear capacity saw negative growth due to decommissioning.[39]

Public opinion

Recent public opinion surveys about wind power at both the EU and the country level shows that wind energy, being a clean and renewable energy source, is traditionally linked to very strong and stable levels of public support. About 80 per cent of EU citizens support wind power.[5]

Opinion on increase in number of wind farms, 2010 Harris Poll[4]
Great
Britain		 France Italy Spain Germany
 %  %  %  %  %
Strongly oppose 6 6 2 2 4
Oppose more than favour 12 16 11 9 14
Favour more than oppose 44 44 38 37 42
Strongly favour 38 33 49 53 40

Statistics

Installed wind power capacity

EU- Wind energy Capacity (MW)[30][40][41][42][43][44][45]
No Land 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998
- EU-28 141,579 128,751 117,289 105,696 93,957 84,074 74,767 64,712 56,517 48,069 40,511 34,383 28,599 23,159 17,315 12,887 9,678 6,453
1 Germany 44,947 39,165 33,730 31,332 29,060 27,214 25,777 23,897 22,247 20,622 18,415 16,629 14,609 11,994 8,754 6,113 4,442 2,875
2 Spain 23,025 22,986 22,959 22,796 21,674 20,676 19,149 16,689 15,131 11,623 10,028 8,264 6,203 4,825 3,337 2,235 1,812 834
3 UK 13,603 12,440 10,531 8,445 6,540 5,204 4,051 2,974 2,406 1,962 1,332 904 667 552 474 406 362 333
4 France 10,358 9,285 8,254 7,196 6,800 5,660 4,492 3,404 2,454 1,567 757 390 257 148 93 66 25 19
5 Italy 8,958 8,663 8,551 8,144 6.747 5,797 4,850 3,736 2,726 2,123 1,718 1,266 905 788 682 427 277 180
6 Sweden 6,025 5,425 4,470 3,745 2,907 2,163 1,560 1,048 788 571 509 442 399 345 293 231 220 174
7 Poland 5,100 3,834 3,390 2,497 1,616 1,107 725 544 276 153 83 63 63 27 0 0 0 0
8 Portugal 5,079 4,914 4,724 4,525 4,083 3,898 3,535 2,862 2,150 1,716 1,022 522 296 195 131 100 61 60
9 Denmark 5,063 4,845 4,772 4,162 3,871 3,752 3,465 3,163 3,125 3,136 3,128 3,118 3,116 2,889 2,489 2,417 1,771 1,443
10 Netherlands 3,431 2,805 2,693 2,391 2,328 2,245 2,229 2,225 1,747 1,558 1,219 1,079 910 693 486 446 433 361
11 Romania 3,129 2,954 2,599 1,905 982 462 14 11 8 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
12 Ireland 2,486 2,272 2,037 1,738 1,631 1,428 1,260 1,027 795 746 496 339 190 137 124 118 74 73
13 Austria 2,412 2,095 1,684 1,378 1,084 1,011 995 995 982 965 819 606 415 140 94 77 34 30
14 Greece 2,152 1,980 1,865 1,749 1,629 1,208 1,087 985 871 746 573 473 383 297 272 189 112 39
15 Belgium 2,229 1,959 1,651 1,375 1,078 911 563 415 287 194 167 96 68 35 32 13 6 6
16 Finland 1,000 627 448 288 197 197 146 143 110 86 82 82 52 43 39 39 39 17
17 Bulgaria 691 691 681 674 612 375 177 120 57 36 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 Lithuania 424 279 279 225 179 163 91 54 54 51 48 6 6 0 0 0 0 0
19 Croatia 423 347 339[46] 180 131 89 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 Hungary 329 329 329 329 329 295 201 127 65 61 17 3 3 3 0 0 0 0
21 Estonia 303 302 280 269 184 149 142 78 59 32 32 6 2 2 0 0 0 0
22 Czech Republic 282 282 269 260 217 215 192 150 116 54 28 17 9 3 0 0 0 0
23 Cyprus 158 147 147 147 134 82 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Latvia 62 62 62 60 31 30 28 27 27 27 27 27 27 24 0 0 0 0
25 Luxembourg 58 58 58 58 44 44 35 35 35 35 35 35 22 17 15 10 10 9
26 Slovakia 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 Slovenia 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
28 Malta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- EU-28 Offshore 11,079 8,045 6,562 4,993 3,810 2,944 2,061 1,471 1,088
- Turkey 4,694 3,763 2,956 2,312 1,691 1,329 801 458
- Norway 838 819 768 703 520 441 431 429 333 314 267 160 101
- Ukraine 514 498 371 278 151 87 94 90 89 86 77
- Switzerland 60 60 60 46 42 18 14 12 12 12
- Macedonia 37 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- Faroe Islands 18 18 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- Russia 15 15 15 15 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- Belarus 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- Iceland 3 3 1.8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- Europe (MW) 147,772 133,968 121,474 109,238 96,607 86,075 76,152 65,741 57,136 48,563 40,898

Per capita capacity

Wind power today, in an average wind year, generates the equivalent of over 20% of Denmark’s electricity use and 25–30% of that in three German Länder, and on windy days with light loads, over 100% of the load in certain regions, particularly in West Denmark, North Germany, and northern Spain.[47]

Wind power
 % of electricity and per person
2007[48] 2008[49] 2009[50] 2010[51] 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Country  % electricity W/person W/person W/person W/person W/person W/person W/person W/person W/person
 Denmark 21.3 579 581 627.5 686.6 706.2 745.8 837.3 850.1 894.6
 Sweden 1.3 88 111 166.9 231.6 308.7 394.8 454.0 551.0 618.1
 Germany 7.0 270 291 315.3 332.7 355.7 382.8 415.9 483.0 553.7
 Ireland 8.4 193 228 283.1 319.6 364.0 375.0 439.5 490.1 537.4
 Spain 11.8 367 370 415.5 449.6 469.2 490.8 494.3 495.0 495.8
 Portugal 9.3 203 270 332.5 366.4 403.4 429.2 471.2 471.3 489.6
 Austria 3.3 120 119 118.8 120.7 128.2 163.2 195.3 243.0 281.0
Average 3.8 116 131 149.2 168.3 187.2 209.7 230.8 253.3 278.6
 Estonia 1.8 45 58 111.3 111.0 137.2 200.8 213.4 230.2 230.7
 United Kingdom 1.8 40 54 65.3 83.9 105.0 132.4 162.7 192.2 210.0
 Netherlands 3.4 107 136 134.0 135.4 139.1 145.3 158.7 165.3 203.0
 Greece 3.7 78 88 96.1 106.9 143.6 154.9 170.2 180.1 199.0
 Belgium 0.7 28 36 52.0 81.9 98.4 124.5 147.5 175.1 198.0
 Cyprus 0 0 0 0 102.1 166.6 170.5 170.5 170.5 186.5
 Finland 0.3 21 27 27.3 36.8 36.6 53.4 81.7 114.3 182.8
 Romania 0.0 0 1 1 19.5 45.9 90.9 133.2 151.4 157.5
 France 1.2 40 53 69.9 87.5 104.0 114.6 123.9 139.3 156.1
 Italy 1.7 47 63 80.3 96.1 111.1 133.9 140.7 142.5 147.3
 Lithuania 1.1 15 19 27.3 46.3 55.2 74.8 96.6 96.6 145.1
 Poland 0.4 7 12 18.5 31.0 42.3 64.9 88.1 99.6 134.2
 Luxembourg 1.1 71 90 86.2 86.2 84.6 106.7 106.7 106.7 106.7
 Bulgaria 0.5 10 21 23.4 49.6 81.6 89.7 92.5 93.8 93.8
 Latvia 0.9 12 12 12.5 13.8 13.9 33.3 33.5 33.5 33.5
 Hungary 0.4 6 12 20.1 29.3 32.9 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0
 Czech Republic 0.4 11 14 18.4 20.5 20.6 24.6 25.6 26.8 26.8
 Slovenia 0.0 1 1 1 0.9 0.6 1.1 1.1 1.5 1.5

Leading EU countries by wind power production

Leading EU countries by wind power production
(2015)[52]
Country Power Production (GWh)
Germany 87,975
Spain 43,380
United Kingdom 38,010
France (w/o overseas) 21,100
Sweden 16,500
Italy 14,589
Denmark 14,100
Portugal 11,878
Poland 9,830
Netherlands 7,237
Belgium 5,752
Romania 5,632
Ireland 5,500
Austria 5,200
Greece 4,130

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/swf/factsheet/1_statisticsandtargets.pdf
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Rasmussen, Jesper Nørskov. "Vindmøller slog rekord i 2014 " In English. Energinet.dk, 6 January 2015. Accessed: 6 January 2015. Archived on 6 January 2015
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wind energy: a visionary match
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Greece commits for 2,587 wind turbines
  20. ↑ Rising to the Challenge:the growth of wind power generation in Greece
  21. ↑ Greek Ministry of Environment
  22. ↑ Greece Renewable Energy - Europa Fact Sheet
  23. ↑ http://www.eirgrid.com/media/All-Island_Wind_and_Fuel_Mix_Report_December_2014%20%282%29.pdf All-island Wind and Fuel Mix report for December 2014
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/04/spanish-wind-generated-more-power-than-germanys-in-2010
  27. ↑ https://www.ieawind.org/countries/spain.html
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 EWEA: "Wind in power: 2012 European statistics", February 2013
  31. ↑ RenewableUK Wind Energy statistics
  32. ↑ Renewables Obligation. Ofgem.gov.uk.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ RenewableUK 23 September 2010 Press Release. Bwea.com.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Wind will be cheapest electricity generating technology by 2020 EWEA 04 Feb 2013
  37. ↑ Fossil fuel subsidies are "public enemy number one" – IEA Chief EWEA 04 Feb 2013
  38. ↑ Feb 2013
  39. ↑ 8/2/2013: EU wind power grows in 2012 - but industry challenged in 2013
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ EWEA: "Wind in power: 2014 European statistics", February 2014
  46. ↑ http://www.poslovni.hr/hrvatska/do-kraja-godine-280-novih-postrojenja-na-obnovljive-izvore-energije-289636
  47. ↑ Lovins, Amory B. (2005). Nuclear power: economics and climate-protection potential, see footnote 28.
  48. ↑ Pure Power, Wind Energy Scenarios up to 2030 EWEA April 2008 s. 20-21
  49. ↑ Wind energy barometer 2008 EurObserv’ER Systèmes solaires Le journal des énergies renouvelables n° 189, 4/2009, p.54, 72
  50. ↑ Wind energy barometer 2009 EurObserv’ER Systèmes solaires Le journal des énergies renouvelables n° 195, 3/2010, p.48
  51. ↑ Wind energy barometer 2010
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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