The EU Has a Chance to Reach Its 2030 Wind Power Targets

Thanks to rising investments and accelerated permitting, the European Union may have a chance to reach its 2030 wind power installation targets if it further speeds up capacity build-outs, sector association WindEurope said in a new report on Wednesday.  

Europe installed 18.3 gigawatts (GW) of new wind power capacity in 2023, of which the EU-27 installed 16.2 GW, a record amount but only half of what it should be building to meet its 2030 climate and energy targets, WindEurope said.  

The association expects Europe to install 260 GW of new wind power capacity over the period 2024 to 2030. The EU-27 is set to install 200 GW of this – 29 GW a year on average, which is around 4 GW lower than the needed 33 GW average annual rise in new wind power capacity to reach the 2030 target of 425 GW of wind power installed.   

Currently, WindEurope sees the EU falling around 30 GW short of its 425 GW ambition needed to meet the 42.5% renewable energy target.

“But things have improved over 2023 and the outlook is more optimistic than it was last year,” the association said in the report.

“The European wind industry is now in a stronger place than it was a year ago,” WindEurope said, noting that “Europe has turned a corner on the permitting of new onshore wind farms, mainly thanks to new EU permitting rules.”

Last year, the EU unveiled the European Wind Power Action Plan to help get the bloc’s flailing wind industry back on the track of growth to help accelerate its decarbonization targets. The package included fast-tracking permitting, improving the auction systems across the EU, and facilitating access to EU financing. 

“Permitting has improved thanks to new EU rules. Investments are up. Record volumes are being auctioned and built. And governments have committed with the Wind Power Package and Charter to strengthen Europe’s wind energy industry,” WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said, commenting on the report, as carried by Reuters.   

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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