London (Platts)--8May2007

Power from wind farms will contribute a large portion of the effort to
meet European Union's goal of obtaining 20% of its electricity from renewable
resources by 2020, several speakers told participants at the European Wind
Energy Conference in Milan, Italy late Sunday.

     "Wind energy will be a main contributor" to the target, EWEA President
Arthouros Zervos said. Michael Muller of Germany's Ministry of Environment,
representing the German EU Presidency, added that "the increased renewables
share that is needed will only be possible if the development of wind power,
both on and offshore, is advanced as strongly as possible."

     EU head of states in March committed to a binding target of 20%
renewables energy by 2020.

     The EU currently produces about 3% of its electricity from wind energy,
or about 50,000 MW, and wind energy advocates predict that portion could rise
more than three-fold to 180,000 MW by 2020, contributing 16% of EU power
production. 

     Zervos presented figures showing that a third of new generating capacity
installed in Europe from 2002 to 2006 came from wind power. The key factor, he
said, was the wind industry's move beyond its traditional strongholds of
Denmark, Germany and Spain into new EU markets.

--David R. Jones, david_jones@platts.com