More new wind power installed in 2009 than any other energy technology

3 February 2010

More new wind power capacity was installed in the European Union in 2009 than any other electricity-generating technology, according to new statistics published by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

The study shows that 39 per cent of all new capacity installed in 2009 was wind power, followed by gas at 26 per cent and 16 per cent solar photovoltaics. EWEA said Europe decommissioned more coal and nuclear capacity than it installed in 2009 and that taken together renewable energy technologies account for 61 per cent of new power generating capacity in 2009.

Investment in new European wind farms in 2009 reached €13bn, including €1.5bn offshore. The findings also show that a total of 10,163MW of wind power capacity was installed across the EU, representing a 23 per cent increase compared to 2008 installations, made up of 9,581MW onshore which was up 21 per cent from last year, and 582MW offshore which was up 56 per cent from last year.

The results show that 2009 is the second year running that more wind power capacity has been installed than any other electricity-generating technology, and that wind’s share of newly installed capacity increased from 35 per cent in 2008 to 39 per cent in 2009. It is also the second year running that renewable energies have accounted for the majority of new investments.

‘It is a remarkable result in a difficult year’ said Christian Kjaer, CEO of EWEA. ‘The figures, once again, confirm that wind power, together with other renewable energy technologies and a shift from coal to gas, are delivering massive European carbon reductions, while creating much needed economic activity and new jobs for Europe’s citizens.’

The countries with the biggest share of new capacity installed in 2009 were Spain with 24 per cent of the share or 2459MW, followed by Germany at 19 per cent or 1917MW, then Italy taking up 11 per cent of the share at 1114MW and France with 11 per cent of the total. The UK installed 1077MW of new capacity in 2009, representing ten per cent of the overall new installed capacity.

Wind power’s total capacity in the EU has now reached 74,767MW, up from 64,719MW by the end of 2008, with Germany remaining the EU country with the largest installed capacity, followed by Spain, Italy, France and the UK.

The wind capacity installed by the end of 2009 will in a normal year meet 4.8 per cent of total EU power demand.

Kjaer added, ‘I am quite optimistic about the medium-term outlook for wind power in Europe, but project finance is still tight and it is clear that more orders must be announced in the coming months for the sector to repeat the 10GW installed this year.’

Click here to access the full statistics

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Tags: wind

This story was published on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 1:47 pm and is filed under Europe, companies, knowledge, wind. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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