In 2023, the EU nations went on to build 17 gigawatts of fresh wind power farms, which is apparently the most for any year so far; however, it is still not enough in order to reach its renewable energy target, as per the industry data shown on January 12.
The landmark went on to show how Europe’s energy shift is gaining momentum; however, it is no surprise to say that more of it is required. A minimum of 37 GW of new wind power has to be added every year so as to deliver the EU’s 2030 renewable energy target, which is Brussels’ own prediction.
The EU built and connected to the grid 14 GW of onshore wind power along with 3 GW offshore in 2023, thereby surpassing the 16 GW that got added in 2022, said WindEurope, an industry association.
It is worth noting that Europe’s wind power industry has struggled in the past few years because of elements of growing inflation, high levels of competition, and even bottlenecks in terms of obtaining permits for projects.
The CEO of WindEurope, Giles Dickson, told Reuters that things happened to be very bad indeed when it came to permitting. But now they are enhancing themselves quite significantly, citing new EU regulations to cut the permit waiting times that helped raise the number of permits that were issued in 2023.
Dickson added that this gives them optimism now that the enhancement that they began to see in 2023 is going to be sustained and that they can now look forward to a rise in the volumes of new wind that get built.
It is worth noting that wind energy went on to produce 19% of EU electricity in 2023, helping the bloc to generate 44% of its overall power from renewable sources, as per the analysis by the Fraunhofer Institute.
The European Commission also went ahead and launched a package of measures in October last year in order to boost Europe’s wind sector, which included more financial aid for wind industry suppliers by way of the European Investment Bank along with changes to green energy auctions that could very well favor the local manufacturers.