Wind energy in Europe

• Author: Directorate-General for Environment (European Commission)
• Pages: 13-17

Guidance on Wind Energy Developments and EU Nature Legislation 13

Guidance on Wind Energy Developments and EU Nature Legislation

13

1 WIND ENERGY IN EUROPE

1.1 Introduction

The European Union (EU) has set ambitious targets to decarbonise the economies of Member States by taking

a range of actions, including the continued development of renewable energy sources (RES). The Renewable

Energy Directive 2009/28/EC12establishes an overall policy for the production and promotion of energy from

renewable sources. It requires the EU to achieve 20% of energy production from renewables by 2020. With

the adoption of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package13in 2018 and 2019, the European Union has

committed to achieving a share of at least 32% of gross EU final energy consumption from renewables by

2030, including provisions for a possible upward revision. For 2020, EU Member States have committed to

specific national renewable energy targets, adopted in their national renewable energy action plans, and

supported by a number of related policies and legal instruments. Eurostat data indicate that the EU as a whole

is on track to achieve the 2020 target of 20% with a share of renewables varying widely by individual Member

State, from over 30% in Finland, Sweden and Latvia, to under5% in Malta, Luxemburg and the Netherlands14.

Although considerable progress has been made in developing renewable energy throughout Europe and land-

based renewable energy production is relatively well established, a growing number of marine-based energy

technologies are experiencing significant growth and are becoming the focus of new policy and legal

frameworks. To ensure their sustainable development in Europe, the EU adopted the Maritime Spatial Planning

Directive 2014/89/EU15with the aim of creatinga common framework to reduce conflict between sectors, to

create synergies, encourage investment and cross-border cooperation, and preserve the environment. The

aims of the Directive are in line with the protection measures set out in the Marine Strategy Framework

Directive (MSFD) 2008/56/EC16 and the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC17.

In 2018, the EU had an installed capacity to produce 160 GW onshore and 19 GW offshore wind energy. This

accounted for 14% of the EU’s electricity demand and continues to be the second largest form of power

generation capacity (Box 1-1).

Box 1-1: Total power generation capacity in the European Union 2008-2018

Source: WindEurope, 201918

12https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32009L0028

13https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-strategy/clean-energy-all-europeans_en

14https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Renewable_energy_statistics

15https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0089

16https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0056

17https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32000L0060

18https://windeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/files/about-wind/statistics/WindEurope-Annual-Statistics-2018.pdf