EEA report confirms wind energy could power Europe many times over

EEA report confirms wind energy could power Europe many times over "The extent of wind energy resources in Europe is very considerable." That is the key finding of the European Environment Agency's new report, ‘Europe's onshore and offshore wind energy potential'. The report highlights wind
power's potential in 2020 as three times greater than Europe's expected electricity demand, rising to a factor of seven by 2030. "The fact that the competitive potential even in a relative short time horizon is much bigger than the electricity demand means that the key need for policy makers should
be on facilitating the integration of wind energy into the energy system," concludes the report. These overall conclusions are welcomed by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). "The EEA clearly recognises that wind power will be key to Europe's energy future" said Christian Kjaer, EWEA's Chief Executive Officer. "Now that oil prices are again on the rise, the EEA report sends a reminder to Europe's policy makers that wind power is a clean and proven energy technology and Europe is the world leader" added Kjaer. The EEA report confirms that EWEA's 230 GW target for 2020 is eminently
achievable. This would produce approximately 600 TWh per year in the EU by 2020, power equivalent to the needs of 135 million average EU households (60% of EU households) and meet between 14 and 18% of EU electricity demand (depending on total demand in 2020). The EEA report can be found here:

http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/europes-onshore-and-offshore-wind-energy-potential