Europe - Upward revision for mid-term role of wind power in the EU

In the next few years, wind turbines will provide the largest share to the additional electricity capacity installed in the EU.

This forecast was published in the last report compiled by the European Commission regarding new energy scenarios in the EU (EU Energy trends to 2030).

According to this paper, out of the 333,000 MW of new electricity capacity that is estimated will be installed in the EU in the period 2011-2020, 41% (136,000 MW) will come from wind power.

Wind farm share in electricity generation capacity is therefore expected to rise from current 5%, ensured by the 80,000 MW installed within the EU, to 14% by 2020.

Specifically, the Commission foresees that, overall, renewable sources will supply 64% of the additional electricity capacity, while the share from other sources is predicted to be 17% for gas, 12% for coal and 4% for nuclear and 3% for oil.

In comparison with the previous document published by the Commission in 2008, it is evident that forecasts regarding the wind sector have seen an upward revision, and now seem essentially aligned with forecasts from EWEA (European Wind Energy Association).

In particular, as regards estimates to 2030, the Commission has practically doubled its forecasts for this sector, since they grew from the 146,000 MW predicted in the previous paper to the 280,000 MW mentioned in the new report.

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