WindEurope: EU building less than half capacity needed for 2030 goal

Europe gets 20% of its electricity from wind, but not enough new wind farms are being built, WindEurope said. It urged the authorities to action in the areas of permitting, grids and electrification.

Wind energy was 20% of all the electricity consumed in Europe last year and 19% in the European Union, WindEurope said in its first estimate. The association stressed that only 13 GW was added in the EU, of which 1.4 GW offshore. It compares to 30 GW necessary to meet the 2030 energy targets, it underscored.

Most governments are not applying the new EU permitting rules, new grid connections are delayed and the slow pace of electrification is holding back demand, according to the report. “Governments are auctioning more new wind farms. So more new projects should be built provided Europe solves those three problems and there’s a proper business case for building them,” the document adds.

The EU wants the share of wind in power consumption to grow to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.

EU permitting rules must be implemented

As for permitting, WindEurope’s Chief Executive Officer Giles Dickson said Germany is a bright example for other governments. More wind means cheaper power which means increased competitiveness, he said. Germany permitted a record of almost 15 GW of onshore wind, seven times more than five years ago.

Slow and cumbersome permitting remains a key hurdle to the expansion of wind energy, the report reads.

Despite the entry into force of binding new EU permitting rules, many countries have not implemented them into national law yet. The permitting situation has actually worsened in 2024, the organization claimed.

Lack in grids, slow electrification blunt growth in wind installations, WindEurope warns

Immediate action is needed to unblock grid capacity, WindEurope said. Currently more than 500 GW of potential wind energy capacity is waiting for assessments of grid connection applications.

“But it’s not only the grid connection queues. Europe is generally not expanding its electricity grids fast enough. One negative example stands out: the 900 MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in Germany is fully installed but waiting for a grid connection,” the update adds. The transmission system operator won’t be able to connect the facility to the grid before 2026.

Similarly, Europe is not electrifying its economy fast enough, the numbers showed. Electricity makes up 23% of all energy consumed in the EU while the goal for 2050 is 61%. Electrification rates are stalling, especially in mobility, heating and industry, WindEurope said.

It highlighted the task for European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen to present an electrification action plan.

Governments awarding more wind farm approvals in auctions

Europe awarded more new wind capacity in government auctions than ever before, 37 GW in total and 29 GW in the EU.

Europe financed an estimated 19 GW of new wind energy in 2024, slightly down on the 21 GW financed in 2023. It includes onshore wind investments of EUR 24 billion. But offshore wind investments were significantly lower than in 2023. It remains very challenging to take final investment decisions in the segment, WindEurope explained.

Wind energy continues to attract growing interest from corporate electricity consumers. Corporates understand the business case for sourcing wind power. It had a 50% share of all electricity contracted under new power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Europe in 2024.

Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of PPAs for renewables. But 1 GW of wind capacity makes twice as much electricity as 1 GW of solar, the report’s authors noted.