Slow electrification affecting wind power output in Europe – report
Clean Energy Wire
The EU must prioritise industry electrification, grid modernisation and permitting to reach its wind power expansion targets, industry association WindEurope said in its latest wind energy data update. "Slow progress on permitting, grids and electrification mean Europe will now build less new wind in 2025 than we previously expected," WindEurope wrote in a separate press release. The lobby group added that “Restrictions in grid capacity, port capacity and vessel availability are also hindering the expansion of offshore wind.”
The industry association expects the EU to grow its wind power capacity to 344 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 (298 GW onshore; 46 GW offshore) – significantly below the EU’s target of 425 GW for the end of the decade. As of the first half of 2025, the EU had installed 236 GW of wind power capacity.
All EU member states except Germany are moving too slowly in changing permitting rules to expand wind power, the report stated. “The revised EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) has started to improve the situation, but progress is still too slow to align permitting volumes with the EU’s 2030 energy targets,” WindEurope wrote. It pointed out that Germany was the only country applying the concept of “overriding public interest” for renewables, which streamlines and relaxes licensing procedures, for example regarding environmental regulation.
The EU has set the target of becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050. Wind power is set to play a major role to achieve the goal and already forms the backbone of Germany's renewable energy capacity. However, industry electrification as well as the uptake of electric vehicles and heat pumps has been slower than expected, weakening the demand growth for electricity and therefore the business case for new wind energy installations, the association wrote.
