Annually, WindEurope, the wind energy industry association in Europe, publishes a report compiling data and statistics from the previous year, along with some forecasts for the future.
Personally, I love these reports, as they provide a general overview of wind energy in the old continent, showing which countries are performing better or worse, the challenges each one faces… and all from both the onshore and offshore perspectives. You can read the 2023 analysis here.
Let’s go through the key highlights and some conclusions from the 2024 report.
Installations
Europe installed a total of 16.4 GW of new wind power capacity in 2024, of which 84% (13.8 GW) was onshore and the remaining 16% (2.6 GW) was offshore. This represents a decline from last year’s 18.3 GW (14.5 GW onshore and 3.8 GW offshore).
If we consider only EU-27, 12.9 GW were installed: 11.5 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore, below last year’s record of 16.1 GW, when 13.3 GW onshore and 2.8 GW offshore were installed.
The countries that installed the most wind power were:
Germany: 3,292 MW Onshore / 730 MW Offshore- United Kingdom: 739 MW Onshore / 1,178 MW Offshore
- France: 1,081 MW Onshore / 658 MW Offshore
- Finland: 1,414 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
- Turkey: 1,310 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
- Spain: 1,183 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
- Sweden: 1,015 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
- Poland: 805 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
- Italy: 685 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
- Lithuania: 522 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
Germany: 3,292 MW Onshore / 730 MW Offshore
United Kingdom: 739 MW Onshore / 1,178 MW Offshore
France: 1,081 MW Onshore / 658 MW Offshore
Finland: 1,414 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
Turkey: 1,310 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
Spain: 1,183 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
Sweden: 1,015 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
Poland: 805 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
Italy: 685 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
Lithuania: 522 MW Onshore / 0 MW Offshore
Germany remains Europe’s driving force in new installations, with 4.0 GW installed (82% onshore). These figures are undoubtedly driven by improvements in permitting and the tendering of large auction volumes.
The United Kingdom (1.9 GW, strongly boosted by offshore), France (1.7 GW), Finland (1.4 GW), Turkey (1.3 GW), Spain (1.2 GW), and Sweden (1.0 GW) followed in the rankings.
The complete picture of installed capacity is as follows:
Average turbine capacity
One of my favorite charts is the average capacity of installed wind turbines by country.
The average capacity of onshore wind turbines installed in Europe in 2024 was 4.6 MW, showing a slight increase from 4.5 MW in 2023. It seems that the trend is slowing down.
By country, the largest onshore turbines were installed in Lithuania and Romania, with an average capacity of 6.3 MW, followed by Sweden (6.2 MW), Estonia and Finland (6.0 MW). Spain stands at 5.2 MW.
France (2.8 MW) stands out, as it installs the smallest turbines among countries with significant volume. Height restrictions in the country limit the capacity of installed wind turbines, preventing the adoption of the latest models. However, as a trade-off, they often install turbines with a stronger track record, though at a higher cost.
In 2024, the average capacity of offshore wind turbines connected to the grid was 10.1 MW, showing a slight increase from 9.7 MW in 2023.
The UK connected the largest turbines on average (12.7 MW) and also the largest individual turbines in the Moray West wind farm (SG 14-222 DD, 14.7 MW). France lags behind in offshore turbine size, with an average of 7.6 MW.
Electricity generation
Wind energy generated 19% of total electricity in the EU, with a total production of 475 TWh, roughly twice Spain’s annual electricity consumption.
Denmark and Ireland had the highest share of wind energy in their electricity mix, with 56% and 33%, respectively.
Wind energy covered more than a quarter of electricity demand in seven other countries: Sweden (31%), Germany (30%), United Kingdom (30%), Netherlands (29%), Portugal (28%), Lithuania (27%), Spain (25%).
Two interesting facts:
- The record for daily wind power generation was set on November 24, reaching 2,995 GWh, equivalent to an average power output of 125 GW, about 60% of the total wind fleet running at full capacity all day.
- The lowest daily wind power generation was recorded on August 5, with just 401 GWh, covering only 6% of the EU’s electricity demand that day.
Repowering
The European wind turbine fleet is aging, which is why repowering is playing an increasingly important role in WindEurope’s report.
If Germany is the driving force of Europe in new installations, it is also leading in repowering. Spain, on the other hand, ranks second in Europe in terms of dismantling but has not carried out a single repowering project. This data surprised me quite a bit, although perhaps it is because these are already dismantled wind farms that are still awaiting repowering.
Let’s not forget that Spain has the oldest fleet in Europe, with an average age of 14.2 years, followed by Germany (11.8 GW) and the United Kingdom (10.6 GW).
Forecasts
WindEurope expects 2024 to be a turning point, a year that serves to gain momentum toward a 2025-2030 horizon where installations will continue to grow without stopping, surpassing the record each year.
Although offshore takes a large share of the spotlight, 75% of all new installations until 2030 are expected to be onshore.
Link to the full report on WindEurope’s website
This content was originally published in Windletter, a weekly newsletter with the latest news from the wind energy sector. You can subscribe for free at this link.
