Tag: Wind power

Estonia is on track to become the first nation to meet the EU’s target of providing 20% of its final energy use from renewable sources, according to new Eurostat figures released on 26 April.

Global wind power expanded by almost 20% in 2012 to reach a new peak of 282 gigawatts (GW) of total installed capacity, while solar power reached more than 100GW, having more than doubled in two years.

Europe’s offshore wind capacity soared by 50% in the first half of 2012, compared to a year before, figures from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) show.

Wind is already Europe's second most important source of renewable energy, but by 2050 it should be both economically and technically feasible for it to become the continent's primary source of overall energy, argues Eberhard Rhein.

The president of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), Arthuros Zervos, has called for the EU to adopt a binding renewable energy target of 30% for 2030.

Ten European countries, including Norway, have agreed to develop an offshore electricity grid in the North Sea, in a bold move that promoters say will give Europe the opportunity to tap into an even bigger source of energy than the Middle East's oil capacity.

European companies still have a stronger foothold in China's growing clean technology market than their American counterparts, Xiaomei Tan, China expert at the World Resources Institute (WRI), told EurActiv in an interview.

More than half of all new electricity capacity added in the United States and Europe last year was from renewable power such as wind and solar, a body backed by the International Energy Agency and the UN reported.

A group of citizens from the Belgian town of Estinnes near the French border have appealed to the European Commission to stop a wind farm being developed in their backyard.

The UK government gave on Friday (8 January) its green light to the construction of nine new offshore wind farms, which would see Europe's capacity multiply and bring the UK closer to meeting its renewable energy targets.

"By 2020, wind energy could be generating between 13.5% and 15% of Bulgaria's electricity needs" and ensure that the country is no longer dependent on gas, writes Christian Kjaer, CEO of the European Wind Energy Association.

Wind projects already being planned could cover 10% of Europe's electricity needs, but a lack of grid infrastructure and liquidity problems will prevent the development of some, according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

With a smaller dependence on bank loans than other industries, the wind energy sector believes it will be among the first to emerge from the recession, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) said at the opening of its annual conference yesterday (16 March).

As the EU embarks on ambitious plans to boost its use of renewable energies, the oil-rich Nordic country is seeking to diversify its offering and swamp EU consumers with green electricity produced by large-scale offshore wind farms.

The Renewables Directive agreed in December will provide incentives to develop wind energy by forcing new legislation in all 27 member states, Christian Kjaer, chief executive of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), told EurActiv in an interview.

The European Commission is promoting offshore wind energy development as part of its Second Strategic Energy Review, released in Brussels yesterday (13 November).  Endorsement by Brussels comes hot on the heels of massive growth in the sector.

Wind energy could easily provide for more than one fourth of the EU's electricity by 2030 provided that wind farms are better connected to existing electricity grids and that a new grid to exploit the offshore wind industry is built, according to a stakeholder action plan detailing research and political priorities for the sector.

Europe's wind sector has enjoyed impressive growth in recent years, but even more effort is needed to boost one of the EU's most promising sources of renewable energy in order to realise the EU's energy policy ambitions, according to EU Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik.

The UK has announced plans to build an unprecedented 33 gigawatts of offshore wind power capacity by 2020, surpassing Denmark in sea-based wind power output. But sceptics questioned whether the turbines will ever be built.