Investments in European wind power hit $29.4 billion last year
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European Wind Energy Investment 2016 saw €27.5bn financing, 12.5 GW installations, 153.7 GW capacity, 10.4% EU electricity demand, strong jobs and exports, but policy uncertainty beyond 2020 clouds renewables growth across the grid.
Story Summary
EU wind in 2016: €27.5bn invested, 12.5 GW added, 153.7 GW total, 10.4% power, amid unclear post-2020 policy.
€27.5bn invested in 2016; +5% vs 2015.
12.5 GW added; Germany accounted for 44% of new capacity.
Total capacity 153.7 GW; 2016 output met 10.4% of EU demand.
Growth proved resilient during COVID-19; policy clarity remains weak.
Last year saw 27.5 billion euros ($29.4 billion) invested to finance the development of wind energy, including offshore wind, in Europe, a 5 percent increase compared to 2015, according to new figures from industry body WindEurope.
In total, 12.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity was added across the European Union (EU) as part of record-breaking renewable growth worldwide and across regions – 3 percent less than installations in 2015 – with Germany installing 44 percent of the total.
Europe's total wind capacity is now 153.7 GW, WindEurope said, and wind power in 2016 generated nearly 300,000 GW hours, covering 10.4 percent of the EU's electricity demand.
"Wind energy is now a mainstream and essential part of Europe's electricity supply," Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, said in a news release.
"It is also a mature and significant industry in its own right, now providing 330,000 jobs and billions of euros of European exports," he added.
More recently, wind power grew despite COVID-19, reinforcing the sector's resilience.
Challenges for Europe's green surge remained, however.
"With all the talk about the transition to low-carbon, things should be looking good long-term for the wind industry in Europe," Dickson commented.
"But they're not. Government policy on energy across Europe is less clear and ambitious than it was a few years ago. Only 7 out of 28 EU Member States have targets and policies in place for renewables beyond 2020."
