EurObserv’ER releases WIND ENERGY BAROMETER

Main findings of the 2017 EurObserv'ER Wind Power Barometer

The global installed wind base is up to 486.7 GW. China installed 23.3 GW of new capacity and is global leader with an installed 168.9 GW of capacity, followed by the USA with 8.2 GW of additions in 2016 and a wind power fleet of 82.2 GW. More than 52.2 GW of new capacity were installed in 2016 across the world compared to 64.4 GW in 2015.

The European Union wind energy market held up rather well in 2016. The total installed capacity base of the European Union rose to 153.6 GW. The market thus stayed above the 12 GW threshold (12 068 MW). With a record year of 5 443 MW Germany alone accounted for 45% of new EU capacity. The Netherlands (788.5 MW) made it into the global wind energy top 10, boosted by connecting up the second biggest offshore wind farm ever. Due to exceptionally bad weather conditions in 2016, electricity generation from wind in the EU-28 only slightly increased from 301.9 TWh in 2015 to 302.6 TWh in 2016 (+0,3%).

Some growth in the EU offshore sector

With about 2 GW of offshore capacity connected in 2016, global installed offshore capacity reached 14.2 GW. 1.42 GW thereof were installed in European waters, which is half the amount connected in 2015 when the connection figure was just over 3GW for the EU-28. Three countries – the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands – increased their offshore wind energy capacity in 2016.

Following current trends, EurObserv’ER projects 194 GW of wind capacity in the EU by 2020, which would be below the 213.6 GW figure estimated in National Renewable Energy Action Plans.

Free Download: https://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/wind-energy-barometer-2017-en/