BRUSSELS, February 28 (EVECOM).- European Union countries will install 16.2 gigawatts of new wind capacity in 2023, a record figure that still represents half of the 29 gigawatts per year needed for the community bloc to achieve its goal. Climate and energy goals in 2030
In Europe as a whole, including the UK, new installed capacity reached 18.3 GW and 79% of this new generation corresponds to onshore wind, as detailed by European employer association WindEurope in its annual report published on Wednesday.
However, the scale of new offshore installations is growing, and last year a new record of 3.8 GW of new capacity was set in Europe.
According to the sector’s employers’ association, the EU should install 200 gigawatts of new wind capacity between 2024 and 2030, so it will now have to increase the optimal annual rate from 29 to 33 gigawatts per year, because it has not yet been determined. The appropriate path.
Germany was the first member state to have new installed capacity, with 3.9 GW and 92% onshore, followed by the Netherlands (2.4 GW and 78% offshore) and Sweden (1.9 GW, all onshore).
Spain has installed 764 MW, entirely onshore wind except for 2 MW of floating turbines as part of the DemoSATH pilot project in the Bay of Biscay. Total installed capacity is half of the 1.7 GW added in 2022.
Regarding the presence of wind energy in the “electricity mix”, the highest percentage was recorded in Denmark (56%) and Ireland (36%).
Wind energy covered at least 20% of demand in Germany (31%), the Netherlands (27%), Spain (27%), Sweden (26%), Portugal (26%), Lithuania (21%) and Greece (20%). %), and the United Kingdom outside the European Union (29%).
In terms of installed capacity, Germany is the first European country, with a capacity of 69.6 GW, followed by Spain (30.5 GW), France (22.7 GW), Italy (12.3 GW), and the Netherlands (11.4 GW).
WindEurope celebrated that the European Union has amended its rules for granting permits for new facilities, meaning that licenses have increased by more than 70% in countries such as Germany or Spain.
The employers’ association forecasts that installations between 2024 and 2030 will lead the EU to have 393 GW of wind capacity by 2030, just short of the target of 425 GW.
Spain, in particular, has set an “ambitious” target of 59 GW of onshore wind generation by 2030, but WindEurope believes that “given current challenges” total onshore installations will remain at 40 GW.
Regarding offshore wind, the first auction for a floating wind farm in the Canary Islands with a capacity of approximately 330 MW will be held in 2024, and there may be more auctions in 2025, so Spain could potentially install up to 1 GW of offshore wind capacity. By 2030.
The industry estimates that “new onshore wind capacity will exceed 16 GW by 2030”, which, combined with the potential for the integration of 1 GW of offshore wind by the end of the decade, would make it the EU’s second largest market for generated energy. By the wind behind Germany.
“Commercial and power procurement markets remain strong, despite the failure of the auction in 2023. We expect annual onshore construction to reach 2 GW by 2025 and 2.5 GW thereafter until 2030,” he noted.
However, the industry appreciates regional differences (highlighting that “it has become impossible to develop wind farms in Galicia, as local judges have stopped all construction”), and criticizes that at the national level “permitting processes are relatively inefficient.”
Another challenge that Spain faces is networks, where “there is a high risk of congestion and a lack of new access and communication points.” Aficom
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