Significantly stronger growth:

Apart from photovoltaics, the renewable energy sector with the strongest growth is wind power, although development is progressing very differently across individual European countries. It is however true that most countries are striving to develop wind power plants. Last year, worldwide wind power capacity surpassed nuclear for the first time. But which countries in Europe had the most newly-installed wind power in 2016?

Europe at the forefront:

The Asian wind energy market has increased continuously since 2007. However, apart from Asia and North America, Europe is still one of the largest and most important wind power markets in the world. By the end of 2016, wind power plants with a total capacity of around 161,000 megawatts had been installed in Europe. This is roughly a third of the total worldwide installed capacity of almost 490,000 megawatts. If we take a figure for 2015 of around 147,000 MW  total capacity in Europe we can see a substantial increase in comparison to the previous year.

Use of offshore wind energy:

Onshore wind energy is not the only form of wind power that is playing an increasingly important role. The last year has also seen a significant increase in the use of offshore wind energy. Here too, Europe is asserting its role as the engine of global growth. In 2016, wind power plants with a capacity of around 1,500 megawatts were installed in Europe, and offshore wind parks with a capacity of around 12,600 megawatts were grid-connected. Wind energy in Germany is gaining momentum due to offshore operations in the North and Baltic Sea. This will continue to expand in the future.

Germany still the No. 1:

One thing is certain. Europe is still pushing ahead with wind energy. Almost 139,000MW of new wind capacity was installed on the continent in 2016, corresponding to around 25 percent of the newly-installed wind power worldwide (54,600 MW). Germany still tops the list for the most newly-installed wind power in 2016, well ahead of Spain, Great Britain, France and Italy. These five countries alone account for a total wind power capacity of around 110,000 megawatts – almost 70 percent of the total European wind energy capacity. They are followed by Sweden, Turkey, Poland, Portugal and Denmark, which complete the list of the Top 10 countries for installed wind power in 2016.