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 ener gy sources (RES). The Renewable

Energy Directive 2009/28/EC12 establishes an overall po licy for the production and promotion of energy from

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

the adoption of the Clean Energy for All Europeans pack age13 in 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 re vision. For 2020, EU Member States have com mitted 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 var ying widely by individual Member

State, from over 30% in Finland, Sweden and Latvia, to under 5% 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 num ber of marine-based ener gy

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

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

Directive 2014/89/EU15 with the aim o f creating a common fr amework 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/EC 17.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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