New wind power of 14.7 gigawatts was added by Europe in 2020 with a drop of 6% compared to 2019, according to the WindEurope link in its annual review.
80% of the new power was terrestrial, while wind energy accounted for 16% of European electricity generation and the total installed capacity now exceeded 220 gigawatts.
Greece was the 12th country in the list of largest facilities last year when the Netherlands took first place with almost 2 gigawatts and Germany was at the lowest level since 2010. 517 megawatts were added to Greece in 2020, bringing the total to 4.1 gigawatts and their production covered 15% of the demand for electricity, a share that places our country in eighth place.
It is also worth noting that Greece was 6th in the number of wind turbines installed last year with about 200.
According to the association, during the period 2021-25 another 105 gigawatts of wind farms are expected to be installed across Europe and 15 gigawatts per year in EU countries. compared to 18 gigawatts estimated to be needed for national energy plans. It is stressed, however, that if the licensing process and repowering are not improved, then the European facilities will be limited to 79 gigawatts.
Finally, for our country, the association expects 1.5 gigawatt facilities by 2025.
It is worth noting, according to information, WindEurope’s new agreement with the chemical industry and the steel industry, where both now demand more wind energy.
As it is underlined, this is an excellent development for the industry since these sectors universally disapproved of RES until a few years ago. They argued that RES are thoughtful and that industries cannot rely on their sensitive production. Especially for wind farms, they claimed that they are very expensive.
According to WindEurope, the above is no longer the case, but energy-intensive industries are demanding more RES and faster penetration of wind technology. “Cefic and EUROFER are very strong allies in shaping European policies on the Green Agreement and we are very pleased that the industry recognizes such prospects.”
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