More wind power was added in the Netherlands last year than in any other country in Europe, helped by a market-boosting offshore wind push, as overall European installation figures declined amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest statistics from WindEurope.

The completion of the Borssele 1-4 wind farm zones in the Dutch North Sea with a combined capacity of close to 1.5GW pushed the country's overall onshore and offshore additions to 1.98GW in 2020, eclipsing historical leader Germany.

Europe as a whole installed 14.7GW of new wind in 2020, down 6% from 2019 and 19% less than expected before the coronavirus outbreak, said WindEurope in a report.

Second-placed Germany saw 1.65GW added via a timid recovery in onshore figures due to small improvements in permitting rules, though offshore additions plummeted. The overall figure in Europe's largest economy was the lowest in a decade.

Third-placed Norway added a massive 1.53GW, all on land, due to an ongoing boom in the North of the Scandinavian country. Norway’s wind sector was hard hit by the impact of border closures due to Covid (installing only a few turbines in the first half of the year) but managed to recover in the second half.

Only 598MW of new wind capacity was installed in the UK, almost all of it offshore, down from 2.39GW in 2019, when the country led European wind additions.

"Wind is now 16% of Europe’s electricity. But Europe is not building enough new wind farms to deliver the EU’s climate and energy goals," WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson cautioned.

Spain, France, Turkey and Sweden followed next in the ranking of European wind additions, each with onshore-driven wind power additions in the 1-1.4GW range.

Noteworthy were also the 713MW in wind power additions in Russia, which now has an accumulated capacity of 905MW, according to WindEurope, showing how the world’s biggest country finally is edging ahead with its energy transition as capacity from a 2018 auction began to be commissioned.

A 'realistic' 105GW more by 2025

WindEurope expects the continent to install 105GW of new wind farms over 2021-25, up to 72% of which on land, under what it calls a ‘realistic expectations scenario’. But if governments fail to address permitting issues or to put in place effective repowering strategies, and implement new restrictions on goods and people due to the pandemic, additions in the five-year period may only amount to 79GW.

The industry group expects most new wind power through 2025 to be installed in the UK, with a cumulated 18GW of mostly offshore capacity. Germany is expected to install a similar amount (16GW), but most of it on land. France (12GW), Sweden (7GW) and the Netherlands (6GW) are seen to provide the next largest contributions.

The expected additions won't be enough to deliver the EU's Green Deal or reach climate neutrality by 2050, WindEurope warned. The EU27 are set to build only 15GW per year in 2021-25, whereas 17GW annually would be needed through 2030 to deliver the EU's climate targets.

"The main problem is permitting. Permitting rules and procedures are too complex," Dickson said.

"There are not enough people working in the permitting authorities to process permit applications. Governments have to address this. Otherwise the Green Deal is at risk."

About 9.4GW of old wind capacity could be decommissioned over the next five years, the report estimates. WindEurope expects that only 2.4GW of that will be repowered, with the remaining 7GW to be fully decommissioned and removed from the system.

Industry federations also pointed to the shortcomings of the expected wind build-out.

Marco Mensink, director general of the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), said: "Renewable electricity including wind power is a cornerstone in the decarbonisation of the chemical industry in Europe.

"We simply need it, we need it at a competitive price and we need more, both for direct electrification and to fulfil our central role in the hydrogen economy."

Wind meets 16.4% of power needs

Looking at accumulated capacities at the end of last year, close to two thirds (65%) of all wind power installations in Europe are spread across five countries: Germany (63GW), Spain (27GW), the UK (24GW), France (18GW), and Italy (11GW).

Wind energy in 2020 met 16.4% of electricity demand across the EU, 1.4% higher than in 2019, WindEurope said, amid a combination of strong installations, windy conditions early the year, and a significant drop in demand due to the lockdowns against the first wave of Covid-19.

Denmark again was the front-runner, with close to half (48%) of its power demand covered by wind last year, followed by Ireland with 38% and Germany with 27%.

Wind

Netherlands dethrones UK and Germany as Europe's new wind power king