Wind energy on the rise

Europe together with Asia and North America have been the largest wind energy markets in the world since 2007. Wind as a renewable source of energy is available worldwide, basically for free. The use of wind energy is therefore especially suitable for countries with no or limited fossil fuel resources. By the end of 2015, wind energy plants with a total capacity of around 148.00 MW had been installed in European countries, which corresponds to approximately 34 percent of the world’s total capacity.

Germany in first place

The market is growing – more than 13,800 MW of new wind capacity was installed in Europe alone in the last year, which constitutes a fifth of the world’s total newly installed capacity of approximately 63,500 MW. In Europe, Germany ranks higher than even Poland, France, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These are all among the top ten countries in Europe with the most newly installed wind capacity in 2015. Together they account for a total wind power capacity of almost 80,000 MW, more than half of Europe’s total wind power. 

Offshore wind power in the North Sea and Baltic Sea

In addition to the newly installed onshore wind power, Europe has also gained momentum in the use of offshore wind power in the past two years. As with the onshore market, Europe is also the driving force behind the global growth of the world’s offshore wind energy. In 2015, European offshore wind parks with a remarkable capacity of approximately 11,000 MW were on the grid – and the wind energy utilisation potential is far from being exhausted.