Permitting and investment boost puts EU wind targets in reach - WindEurope

Permitting and investment boost puts EU wind targets in reach - WindEurope | Windpower Monthly

The group forecast 262GW of wind capacity being installed across Europe between 2024 and 2030, with 201GW of this being in the EU. These new installations would be back-loaded, with more capacity being installed towards the end of the decade than in the middle of the decade.

The 262GW figure would equate to 29GW per year in EU member states and see the bloc fall short of the estimated 33GW per year needed to meet its 425GW target. However, this is an improvement on installation figures for recent years.

WindEurope stated that the rising average annual installations it now forecast was partly due to a shifting political landscape that has seen the EU push several key pieces of legislation such as the Wind Power Package designed to speed up wind energy rollout in the bloc.

“The expected increase in annual buildout over 2024-2030 reflects a combination of government ambition, increased auction volumes, improvements in the permitting of new wind farms and increased investments,” its Wind Energy in Europe 2023 report read.

WindEurope noted that EU rules on permitting – requiring member states to approve wind farms faster and consider them to be in the "overriding public interest" in court – have helped to fast-track approvals. Germany and Spain permitted 70% more onshore wind capacity in 2023 than in 2022, while France, Greece and Belgium also increased approval totals.

The industry body noted that wind power investments also increased last year, due to an easing of inflationary pressures, better tariff indexation by governments and greater certainty around electricity markets.

Adding to the buoyancy, was the fact that Europe as a whole installed a record 18.3GW of new wind energy capacity last year, with EU member states contributing 16.2GW of the total.

Europe had 272GW of wind capacity installed by the end of 2023, including 238GW onshore and 34GW offshore.

Repowering of existing wind farms also played an increasingly significant role in Europe’s wind industry last year, according to the report. “Of the 18.3GW installed in 2023, 1.4GW were repowered projects. The total capacity repowered rose for the fifth year in a row, and was the highest of the last ten years,” it read

Around the continent

The report showed that Germany installed the most capacity of any European country last year with 3.9GW, followed by the Netherlands (2.4GW), Sweden (2GW), France(1.8GW), and the UK (1.4GW).

The 2.4GW installed in the Netherlands (13% of the European total) set a national record, and was dominated by new offshore wind, which made up 78% of new installations, WindEurope stated. Almost all of Sweden’s 2GW of newly installed capacity, on the other hand, was onshore.

Overall, wind power met 19% of total electricity demand in Europe last year, the report found, echoing climate think tank Ember’s recent study which showed wind outperforming gas in this respect for the first time last year.

Denmark had a higher proportion of electricity generated by wind than any other country (56%), followed by Ireland (36%). Wind met more than 20% of electricity demand in many other European countries, the report found, including Germany (31%), the UK (29%), the Netherlands (27%) and Spain (27%).

In addition to record installations, European countries awarded 27.3GW of wind capacity through auctions last year.

Over half of awarded capacity came in Germany, which hosted several major auctions last year and awarded a total of 15.2GW of wind capacity in 2023, according to WindEurope, of which 8.8GW was offshore and 6.4GW onshore.

The average-weighted strike price in Germany’s auctions was €73.30/MWh (up from €58.10/MWh in 2022), just below the maximum bidding price set by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) of €73.50/MWh.

France auctioned the second most capacity of any European country last year, awarding 4.2GW of wind (3.1GW onshore). The country’s average strike price in the technology-specific auction rounds was €86.20/MWh (up from €68.90/MWh in 2022).

Meanwhile, Ireland’s first offshore wind auction, which awarded rights to build 3.1GW of offshore wind in the country, helped the Emerald Isle awarded the third most of any country in Europe, totalling 3.2GW.

Elsewhere. the report showed the continued asymmetry of wind power in Europe. For example, WindEurope noted that two thirds of all cumulatively installed wind power capacity is concentrated in just six countries, most of which were in states in the west or north of the continent (Germany, UK, Spain, France, Sweden), with Turkey a notable exception.

Meanwhile, the average size of turbines installed and ordered in Europe last year increased.

The average power rating of onshore turbines ordered in 2023 reached 5.5MW, up from 5.1MW in 2022.

Meanwhile, the average power rating of onshore wind turbines installed in 2023 was 4.5MW, up from 4.1MW in 2022.

The average size of offshore wind turbines installed in Europe grew by an even larger margin, up almost 20% compared with 2022, reaching 9.7MW in 2023.

And the average power rating of offshore turbines ordered in 2023 reached a record high of 14.9MW, up from 12.2MW in 2022, WindEurope noted.