Europe accelerates wind energy deployment, but additional efforts are needed to meet 2030 targets

Europe installed 12.9 GW of new wind capacity in 2024, but further efforts are required to meet its climate commitments, with 140 GW of investments expected between 2025 and 2030.

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The European Union registered the installation of 12.9 GW of new wind energy capacity in 2024, consisting of 10.3 GW of onshore wind and 2.6 GW of offshore wind. This allowed wind to account for approximately 19% of electricity production in Europe. However, to meet the EU’s energy transition goals, this pace must intensify. According to Wind Europe forecasts, approximately 140 GW of new capacity needs to be installed between 2025 and 2030, with an annual target of 23 GW. The EU aims to increase its total capacity to 351 GW by 2030, though this remains insufficient when considering the full decarbonisation target by 2050.

Wind Energy Capacity and Production

Wind energy has become a central pillar of electricity production in Europe. In 2024, it contributed to covering about 19% of Europe’s energy demand. This share must increase significantly for the EU to achieve its goal of 42.5% renewable energy in its gross final energy consumption by 2030, with a strengthened target of 45%. The implementation of incentivising measures and creating a conducive investment environment is crucial to maintaining this momentum, especially as clean energy demand grows rapidly.

EU Offshore Wind Targets

The EU has also made strong commitments regarding offshore wind. The revision of the Regulation on Trans-European Networks for Energy (RTE-E) introduces offshore capacity targets for member states, setting interim goals for 2030 and 2040, with a global target of 86 to 89 GW by 2030. Deploying such offshore capacity is seen as essential for ensuring Europe’s energy transition while strengthening grid resilience.

European Initiatives Supporting the Wind Sector

The REPowerEU plan, adopted in 2022, focuses on accelerating renewable energy investments to reduce Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels. This plan has led to a significant increase in installed wind and solar capacities, reaching 78 GW of new capacity in 2024. EU funding programmes, such as Horizon Europe and LIFE, have supported numerous projects in wind energy, particularly in cross-border infrastructure. Furthermore, in 2023, the European Commission introduced the “Wind Power Package” to accelerate wind energy deployment by simplifying permitting procedures, facilitating access to finance, and improving auction designs for renewables.

Impact on Employment and Competitiveness

The renewable energy sector, including wind, has experienced notable employment growth in Europe. In 2020, approximately 1.3 million people were employed in the renewable energy sector. This figure reached 1.8 million in 2023 and is expected to continue growing. Wind energy alone could generate up to 936,000 new jobs by 2030. Moreover, recent technological advancements, such as more efficient wind turbines, have helped make wind energy more competitive compared to other energy sources, providing further growth potential for the European economy.

Google has signed a power purchase agreement with Eneco to supply its Belgian data centre with wind energy from three wind farms totalling 54 MW.
Italian group Dolomiti Energia secures €200mn loan from the European Investment Bank to finance wind farms and modernise power infrastructure in two strategic regions of the country.
Wpd launches a crowdfunding campaign to support the construction of the Bréhand wind farm, aiming to raise €400,000 from residents with a fixed annual interest rate of 7%.
Danish group Orsted will cut a quarter of its workforce by 2027 and reduce its exposure to the United States, relying on a $9.4 billion recapitalisation to consolidate its development in Europe and Asia.
Developer Gwynt Glas enters development phase after signing a lease agreement with The Crown Estate, paving the way for a 1.5GW floating offshore wind project in Welsh waters.
From January 2026, the southern Polish city of Sosnowiec will power its municipal institutions entirely with renewable electricity under a public contract awarded to local provider Hekla Energy.
VSB France begins construction of its largest onshore wind project, a strategic 39.9 MW investment across two municipalities in Calvados, with commissioning scheduled for 2027.
Shell U.S. president stated that cancelling fully permitted wind projects severely undermines investor confidence in the energy sector.
TotalEnergies could bring EDF into the Centre Manche 2 offshore wind project after RWE’s planned withdrawal, strengthening the industrial and financial prospects of the two neighboring parks scheduled for 2032.
Envision Energy has signed an agreement to equip Kazakhstan’s largest wind power project, marking a strategic step in energy cooperation with TotalEnergies, Samruk-Energo and KazMunayGas.
The Swedish energy group aims to produce 9TWh per year with its Storlandet project, intended to meet rising demand from the mining and steel industries in the north of the country.
The two regional utilities join a JERA-led consortium to support the operation of the Ishikari Bay offshore wind farm, which entered service in early 2024.
Energy group Axpo is considering a new installation of three wind turbines in Wil, aimed at powering around 5,000 households and strengthening Switzerland's winter electricity production.
Encavis strengthens its wind portfolio in Germany with the acquisition of a Schierenberg project and the signing of four new partnerships with ABO Energy, for a joint total capacity of 106 MW.
Boralex rolls out an energy assistance scheme for residents near its wind and solar farms, with a pilot project launched in two communes in Haute-Loire.
Eiffage, through its Belgian subsidiary Smulders, will build three electrical substations to connect offshore wind farms in Brittany and the Mediterranean, under a contract exceeding €1.5bn ($1.59bn).
Envision Energy has published an environmental product declaration for two of its turbines, a milestone certified to ISO standards aimed at strengthening its position in international wind markets.
Yaway, a brand of Kallista Energy, commissions in Breteuil a very high-power charging station directly connected to wind turbines, offering a price of €0.30/kWh ($0.32/kWh) and a maximum power of 400 kW, with no subscription.
Fortescue has selected Envision Energy to supply next-generation turbines in Australia, the first step in a project targeting 2 to 3 GW of renewable generation backed by batteries.
Singapore-based developer Vena Energy has launched operations at its third wind power plant in Japan, located in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, with a grid-connected capacity of 7.5 MW.

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