Europe installed record wind capacity in 2021

2021 was the year of “good wind” for Europe, at least when it came to building wind farms. A total of €41 billion was invested in the new capacity, reaching a record 25 gigawatts. However, it is not enough to achieve European climate targets, says the wind energy consortium WindEurope.

Despite the record for 2021, this is less than the 35 gigawatts per year of new wind capacity needed to meet climate and energy security goals by 2030. The data was released on Wednesday by WindEurope, a consortium of companies in the sector, by . Report on wind financing and investment trends.

However, the record of carrying capacity was not accompanied by an investment record: 41 billion was less than in 2020 by 11%. Most of the funded complexes were on the beach (on the ground), a share of 19.8 GW of the total. This partly explains why investment is lower than it was in 2020: offshore wind farms (Navy) More expensive.

As for the geographical distribution, it was quite wide: eleven countries invested more than one billion euros. The most ambitious was the United Kingdom (almost all in Navy), followed by Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and Finland. In terms of land parks, Spain was the most invested country. Sweden, Finland, Poland and Lithuania did not have much investment in this technology.

Barriers to the broader construction of this technology have been increases in the cost of steel, resources and other components, disruptions in the chain, and higher logistical costs. WindEurope argues that it is necessary to continue to improve licensing.