Wind turbines supplied 15% of the electricity consumed in Europe last year, with more than 15 additional gigawatts (GW) installed, according to a report published Monday by the sector association WindEurope, which however warns of an increase insufficient to fulfill the objectives of the European " green pact ".
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The continent now has 205 GW of wind capacity, with the start-up last year of 15.4 GW (including 3.6 GW offshore, a record in terms of installations). In 2019, this energy covered 15% of electricity demand in the EU-28 (after 14% in 2018 and 11.6% in 2017, with large disparities depending on the country).
The United Kingdom pulled this boom with 2.4 GW installed (at sea and on land), followed by Spain (2.3 GW on land, a jump not seen since 2009).
Then come Germany (2.2 GW at sea and on land), Sweden and France (1.6 GW and 1.3 GW, terrestrial only). Germany, which has long been a driving force on the continent, is in decline, with new land capacity connections (1.1 GW) in 2019 at their lowest since 2000, WindEurope points out. And given the investments announced, this year " will not do much better ".
In total, new installations increased by 27% compared to 2018, the second best performance recorded. However, this pace " should double to achieve the objectives " of the " green pact " carried by the European Commission and carbon neutrality to 2050, warns WindEurope.
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" Europe is not building enough wind farms ," said its president, Giles Dickson. Expanding this energy “ requires a new approach, both in terms of planning and licensing, but also continued investment in networks. It is up to the EU to ensure that they are ambitious and materialized, ”adds Giles Dickson.