EU built 17GW of new wind farms in 2023 - but is it enough?

Seventeen gigawatts of new wind energy were built across Europe in 2023, which is more in a single year than ever before. However, it's not enough to meet the EU 2030 targets, according to the latest data from WindEurope.

WindEurope, the association representing Europe's wind value chain, suggests the continent should be building 30GW of new wind every year between now and 2030.

Even though policies are in place to support the annual build-out and strengthen the supply chain, such as the EU Wind Power Package and European Wind Charter, reaching EU targets will ultimately come down to national implementation.

WindEurope data show that Germany built the most new wind capacity followed by the Netherlands and Sweden. The Netherlands built the most new offshore wind, including the 1.5GW Hollandse Kust Zuid.

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Wind made up 19% of the electricity produced in the EU last year. Also, according to WindEurope, the amount of electricity produced from 1GW of wind continued to grow. The capacity factor of new onshore wind farms now ranges from 30-48%, and new offshore wind is consistently 50%. The capacity factor measures how much output you get from a unit of capacity – it varies between different renewable technologies.

A commitment to more wind

Achieving the recently agreed EU target of at least 42.5% renewable energy by 2030, with an ambition to reach 45% set in the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED), will require a massive increase in EU wind installed capacity.

In December 2023, EU energy ministers signed the Wind Power Package outlining crucial actions to spur the development of wind.

The ministers acknowledged the majority of the actions required fall to national governments. These actions include the further simplification of permitting, improvements to auction design, and public financial support for wind turbine manufacturing and key infrastructure.