The study, commissioned by the European Environmental Agency (EEA), finds that Europe’s wind-energy potential will be equivalent to 20 times its total energy demand in 2020. But a series of environmental, social and economic constraints mean that realistically the figure will be closer to three times total demand.
In December 2008, the European Parliament and Council approved a green-energy directive mandating that 20% of the bloc’s total energy supply comes from renewable sources.
