About this document

• Author: Directorate-General for Environment (European Commission)
• Pages: 10-12

10Guidance on Wind Energy Developments and EU Nature Legislation

Guidance on Wind Energy Developments and EU Nature Legislation

10

ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

Background to this document

This document provides an update of the 2011 Commission guidance on wind energy and Natura 2000, as

planned in the action plan for nature, people and the economy1. An update of the guidance was considered

necessary as EU policy and legislation on renewable energy and wind energy technology (especially at sea)

has developed greatly since the guidancewas first issued. In step with these developments, k nowledge on the

impacts of wind energy on biodiversity as well as good practice for addressing these impacts has also

expanded significantly. In view of further drastic expansion of wind energy in the context of tackling climate

change on theone hand and growing pressures on biodiversity on the other hand, guidance based on most

recent insights and good practices on reconciling the respective policy goals and targets is essential.

The Renewable Energy Directive2adopted in 2009sets a binding target of 20% final energy consumption to

come from renewable sources by 2020. In 2018, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the revised

Renewable Energy Directive3, setting a binding EU-level renewable energy target of at least 32% by 2030,

with a clause to revise this figure upwards by 2023. Wind energy accounts for the highest share of renewable

energy production in the European Union (EU) and is expected to remain so over the coming decades. In

2018, with an installed capacity of 170 GW onshore and 19 GW offshore, wind energy accounted for 18.4% of

the EU’s total electricity generation capacity4. With renewable power generation potentially reaching 50% of

total electricity generation in the EU by 2030, wind energy (both onshore and offshore) could account for 21%

of total power generation5.

In December 2019, the European Commission presenteda communication onthe European Green Deal6. It

resets the Commission’s commitment to tackling climate and environment-related challenges that is this

generation’s defining task and is an integral part of the Commission’s strategy to implement the United Nations’

2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs). It is a new growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a

fair and prosperous society, with a modern, sustainable, resource-efficient and competitive economy where

there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from

resource use. The Green Deal has already set out a clear vision on how to achieve climate neutrality by 2050

and how to further decarbonise the energy system in order toreach climate objectives in 2030 and 2050. It

highlights the essential role of renewable energy sources, in particular of offshore wind energy production, in

achieving these objectives.

The European Green Deal attaches also particular importance to biodiversity, which is under increasing

pressure. The European Commission has also recently adopteda communication onthe EU Biodiversity

Strategy for 20307which aims to put Europe's biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030 with benefits for

people, the climate and the planet.This strategy contains commitments and actions to be delivered by 2030,

including the establishment of a larger EU-wide network of protected areas on land and at sea, building upon

existing Natura 2000 areas, with strict protection for areas of very high biodiversity and climate value, an EU

Nature Restoration Plan, a set of measures to enable the necessary transformative change, as well as

measures to tackle the global biodiversity challenge.The report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy

Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) on a Global assessment of biodiversity and

ecosystem services8 also provides an alarming picture of the state of biodiversity and the different pressures

on it.

Climate change is generally acknowledged to be a key driver for biodiversity loss. Rising global temperatures

cause ecosystem degradation on land and in the sea, with the consequent loss of biodiversity. Wind energy

helps conserve biodiversity by saving greenhouse gasemissions, returning significantly more energy back to

society than it consumes over its lifecycle. It consumesno water for power generation and does not cause air,

1https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/fitness_check/action_plan/communication_en.pdf

2https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32009L0028

3https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2018.328.01.0082.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2018:328:TOC

4Wind energy in Europe in 2018. Trends and statistics’ (WindEurope, 2019)

5Renewable Energy Prospects for the European Union, International Renewable EnergyAgency, 2018

6https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/european-green-deal-communication_en.pdf

7https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1590574123338&uri=CELEX:52020DC0380

8https://www.ipbes.net/global-assessment-report-biodiversity-ecosystem-services