EU wind capacity at 40,504MW in 2005, exceeds 2010 target: EWEA

London (Platts)--1Feb2006

Total EU wind power capacity at end-December 2005 stood at 40,504MW,
figures released Wednesday by the European Wind Energy Association showed.
This means that wind energy capacity has already exceeded the 2010 target of
40,000MW set out in the European Commission's 1997 White Paper. EWEA said that
while that target was for the EU15, not the EU25, wind capacity in the EU
excluding the new member states had now exceeded the 40,000MW mark. 
     EWEA said a record of 6,183MW of wind capacity was installed in 2005, an
increase of 18%, and equivalent to a wind turbine manufacturing turnover of
Eur6-bil. 
     "With the installation of a record 6,183MW in 2005, wind energy has
achieved the European Commission's 40,000MW target for 2010, five years ahead
of time," said EWEA president Arthouros Zervos. "This underlines the
technology's ability to deliver fast and vast amounts of clean energy."
     Germany was still Europe's biggest wind energy market in 2005, with
1,808MW installed that year, closely followed by Spain (1,764MW), Portugal
(500MW), Italy (452MW) and the UK (446MW). In terms of cumulative installed
capacity, Germany also leads the pack with 18,428MW installed by end-2005,
followed by Spain with 10,027MW. Together these two countries account for over
half of total EU capacity. 
     Other countries with more than 1GW of wind capacity are: Denmark
(3,122MW), Italy (1,717MW), UK (1,353MW), Netherlands (1,219MW) and Portugal
(1,022MW). 
     The 40,504MW installed in the EU by the end of 2005 will, in an average
wind year, produce some 83TWh of electricity, equal to 2.8% of EU electricity
consumption in 2004, EWEA said
     "Although there are still many barriers to wind energy development in
most EU countries, the figures demonstrate a healthy underlying trend in the
market," said Zervos. "The sector is gradually becoming less reliant on a few
key markets in Europe. That trend is even stronger when we look at the global
market for wind energy in 2005, with more countries significantly increasing
investments in wind power technology, not least USA and India."

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