European wind power

The market for European wind power capacity broke new records in 2006, according to the annual statistics issued by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). 7,588 MW of wind power capacity, worth some €9 billion, was installed last year in the EU, an increase of 23% compared to 2005.

The cumulative wind power capacity operating in the EU increased by 19% and now exceeds 48,000MW. In an average wind year this will produce approximately 100TWh of electricity, equal to 3.3% of total EU electricity consumption. For the seventh consecutive year, wind power is second only to gas-fired capacity (approximately 8,500MW in 2006) in terms of new electricity generating installations.

Germany and Spain continue to attract the majority of investments. In 2006 these two countries represented 50% of the EU market. However, the figures confirm a healthy trend in the European market towards less reliance on Germany and Spain. In 2002, only 680MW of European wind power capacity was installed outside the first-mover countries: Germany, Spain and Denmark. Last year, the figure was 3,755MW.