Archiwum dla miesiąca: February 2024
The EU built a record 17 GW of new wind energy in 2023
The EU built 17 GW of new wind energy in 2023, slightly up on 2022 – and more than ever in a single year in fact. But it is not enough to reach the EU’s 2030 targets. The EU should be building 30 GW of new wind every year between now and 2030. The actions set out in the EU Wind Power Package and European Wind Charter will help increase the annual build-out – national implementation is key. Wind was 19% of all electricity produced in Europe in 2023.
According to WindEurope data, the EU built 17 GW of new wind farms in 2023: 14 GW onshore; 3 GW offshore. These numbers are slightly up on 2022 and are the most the EU has ever built in a single year. But it is well below the 30 GW a year that the EU needs to build to meet its new 2030 climate and energy security targets.
Germany built the most new wind capacity followed by the Netherlands and Sweden. The Netherlands built the most new offshore wind, including the 1.5 GW ‘Hollandse Kust Zuid’ – for now the world’s largest wind farm.
The IEA estimates that Europe will build 23 GW a year of new wind over 2024 – 2028. The actions set out in the EU Wind Power Package should deliver a significant increase in the annual build-out – and strengthen Europe’s wind energy supply chain. National implementation of the actions is key.
To that end the commitment to deliver the Wind Power Package that 26 EU Energy Ministers signed before Christmas in the European Wind Charter was key. Crucial actions include the further simplification of permitting, improvements in the design of the auctions to build new wind farms and public financial support for wind turbine manufacturing and key infrastructure.
Wind was 19% of the electricity produced in the EU last year. Hydro was 13%, solar 8%, and biomass 3%. Renewables in total amounted to 44% of electricity produced.
The amount of electricity produced from 1 GW of wind continued to grow. The ‘capacity factor’ of new onshore wind farms now ranges from 30 – 48%, and new offshore wind is consistently 50%. The capacity factor measures how much output you get from a unit of capacity – it varies between different renewable technologies.
source: Energy Global (Jessica Casey)
https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/15012024/windeurope-the-eu-built-a-record-17-gw-of-new-wind-energy-in-2023/
WEI Annual Conference 2024 Report
It seems only appropriate that our best attended conference follows our industry’s best year for producing electricity.
In 2023 our members saved the equivalent annual emissions of 1.9 million cars and took a billion euro out of the pockets of the fossil fuel industry. And we’re not done yet.
Over two days nearly 750 policymakers and industry leaders discussed how we can accelerate the development of renewable energy.
We debated policy roadblocks and explored possible solutions, we had thought-provoking conversations and we forged valuable new relationships that will help to propel our industry forward.
In the face of a global climate crisis, the urgency of our mission has never been more apparent. Wind energy is Ireland’s climate leader, offering a pathway to a greener, energy-independent, Ireland, and one that it was clear has full political support.
Annual Conference 2024 opened with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald TD telling delegates “the Irish wind energy industry has demonstrated time and again that it is at the forefront of Ireland’s energy revolution, of driving ambitious, positive change” and committing to work in partnership with us in the years to come.
The next day Minister for Finance Michael McGrath TD welcomed the progress we have made towards our ambitious targets in the Climate Action Plan and reaffirmed the commitment of this Government to do more, to reform the planning system, to develop our electricity grid and to invest in critical State agencies.
The need for more, for more speed, for more urgency was highlighted by Statkraft’s Kevin O’Donovan who told a packed conference hall that the planning system needed to be approving 1 GW of projects every year to reach our targets. He highlighted that companies like Statkraft have thriving renewable energy pipelines which are ready to respond if the right policies are put in place.
And the benefits of that renewable energy go beyond decarbonisation as SSE Renewables’ Maria Ryan described the thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of euro in investment that could transform coastal communities from offshore wind projects. Building on the success of our onshore industry we need, she told the audience, “the main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing, and the main thing is delivery”.
We are delighted to share with you the daily coverage from the conference by our media partners reNews
Day 1 Coverage – click here
Day 2 Coverage – click here
