Powering Europe - European Wind Energy Association

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Wind power in the EU has demonstrated impressive
growth rates over the last years. One main reason
for this has been the development of the European
energy and climate policy, constantly supporting renewable
energy technologies via growth targets and
national support schemes. In 2008, the EU adopted
the European Commission’s climate and energy package,
which included the Renewable Energy Directive
(2009/28). This directive sets a 20% EU target for the
use of renewable energy sources in 2020. The 20%
overall target is broken down into different legally binding
national targets.
At national level, plans and policies for the extension
of renewable energy, especially for wind energy, are
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already in place to varying degrees and forms, adding
competition to the future European energy market. By
2020 EWEA expects the European Union to produce
540 TWh of additional wind power, with a big share of
this coming from large-scale offshore wind. 1 In 2010,
Member States are drawing up National Renewable
Energy Action Plans detailing the ways in which they
are to meet the 2020 targets. The reports will indicate
how countries are doing in achieving their targets
and policies for the development and support of wind
power, encouraging consistent progress. In order to
ensure that they continue to support wind power, it is
important to demonstrate the benefits of wind power
development, not only because it helps meet political
targets, but also because wind power boosts energy
1 The European Wind Energy Association. 2009. pure power Wind energy targets for 2020 and 2030.The figure refers to the pure
power high Scenario: For the EU as a whole, wind energy production would increase from 137 TWh (2008) to 681 TWh (2020) and
wind energy’s share of total electricity demand would increase from 4.1% in 2008 to 16.7% in 2020.
Powering Europe: wind energy and the electricity grid
Photo: iStock