Subtittle if needed.

If not MONTH 2018

Published in Month 2018

Wind energy in Europe

in 2019
Trends and statistics
 Wind energy
in Europe in 2019
Trends and statistics
Published in February 2020

windeurope.org
This report summarises new installations and financing activity
in Europe’s wind farms from 1 January to 31 December 2019.

WindEurope regularly surveys the industry to determine

the level of installations of wind farms, and the subsequent
dispatch of first power to the grid. The data represents gross
installations per site and country unless otherwise stated.
Rounding of figures is at the discretion of the author.

DISCLAIMER
This publication contains information collected on a regular
basis throughout the year and then verified with relevant
members of the industry ahead of publication. Neither
WindEurope, nor its members, nor their related entities are,
by means of this publication, rendering professional advice
or services. Neither WindEurope nor its members shall be
responsible for any loss whatsoever sustained by any person
who relies on this publication.

TEXT AND ANALYSIS:

WindEurope Business Intelligence
Ivan Komusanac
Guy Brindley
Daniel Fraile
EDITOR:
Colin Walsh
DESIGN:
Lin Van de Velde, Drukvorm
FINANCE DATA:
Clean Energy Pipeline
IJ Global
All currency conversions made at EUR/GBP 0.8847 and EUR to USD 1.1810
Figures include estimates for undisclosed values
PHOTO COVER:
Courtesy of Dave Harris

WindEurope acknowledges the kind cooperation of the following associations and institutions:
IG Windkraft (AT) – BOP, EDORA and ODE (BE) – BGWEA (BG) – HROTE (HR) – Czech Wind Energy
Association (CZ) – Danish Energy Agency (DK) – Tuulenergia (EE) – Suomen Tuulivoimayhdistys ry
(FI) – France Énergie Éolienne (FR) – Deutsche WindGuard (DE) – HWEA (EL) – IWEA (IE) – ANEV
(IT) – LWEA (LV) – LWPA (LT) – Ministry of Energy and Spatial Planning (LU) – NWEA (NL) – PWEA
(PL) – APREN (PT) – NorWEA (NO) - RWEA (RO) – RAWI (RU) – Elektromreža Srbije (RS) – Sven-
skvindenergi (SE) – AEE (ES) - Suisse Eole (CH) – TÜREB (TK) – UWEA (UA) – RenewableUK (UK).

MORE INFORMATION:
policy@windeurope.org
+32 2 213 18 68
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................... 7
CONTENTS

1. WIND POWER INSTALLATIONS ................................................................................... 11

1.1 Overview .......................................................................................................................... 11

1.2  National breakdown of 2019 installations ........................................................ 12
1.3  Cumulative wind power installations .................................................................. 14
1.4  Decommissioning and repowering of wind farms ......................................... 16
1.5  Wind power generation ............................................................................................ 17
1.6  Wind turbine size .......................................................................................................... 20
1.7  Auctions and tenders in 2019 ................................................................................ 21

2. INVESTMENT NUMBERS IN 2019 ................................................................................ 23

ANNEX 1 .................................................................................................................................... 25
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Europe installed 15.4 GW of new wind power capacity in Three quarters of the new wind installations last year were
2019 (13.2 GW in the EU). This is 27% more than 2018 but onshore. Spain installed the most with 2.2 GW of new
10% less than the record in 2017. onshore wind farms. New installations and investments
were down sharply in Germany.
Europe now has 205 GW of wind energy capacity. And wind
accounted for 15% of the electricity the EU-28 consumed
in 2019.

FIGURE 1
2019 new onshore and offshore wind installations in Europe

UK
16%
2,500
Gross installations (MW)

Spain
2,000 Others 15%
45%

1,500 Germany
14%

1,000 Sweden
10%

500

-
UK

Spain

Germany

Sweden

France

Norway

Greece

Turkey

Ukraine

Belgium

Ireland

Italy

Denmark

Finland

Others

Offshore 1,764 - 1,111 - - - - - - 370 - - 374 - 8

MW

Onshore 629 2,319 1,078 1,588 1,336 780 727 686 637 207 463 456 28 243 563
Total 2,393 2,319 2,189 1,588 1,336 780 727 686 637 577 463 456 402 243 571

Source: WindEurope

Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 7

WindEurope
 Executive summary

2019 annual figures Country highlights

• Europe installed 15.4 GW of new wind power
capacity in 2019. This is 27% more than 2018 but
10% less than the record in 2017. 13.2 GW of the
new installations were in the EU1.
• Onshore wind was 76% of the new installations with
11.7 GW.
• Offshore wind installations were a record 3.6 GW.
• With 417 TWh generated, wind power covered 15%
of the EU’s electricity demand in 2019.
• The UK installed the most wind power capacity in
2019 (2.4 GW). 74% of that was offshore wind.
• Spain (2.3 GW), Sweden (1.6 GW) and France
(1.3 GW) led the installation of onshore wind farms.
Germany came fourth with 1.1 GW.
• Spain was also number one in new investments with
€2.8bn investment decisions in new onshore wind
farms covering 2.8 GW of capacity. France was the
largest investor in offshore wind, raising €2.4bn for
the Saint-Nazaire wind farm.

• A further of new wind farms reached Final
Investment Decision: 10.1 GW in onshore and
1.4 GW in offshore wind. The new investments were
worth €19bn.
• Around 15 GW of new wind farms were awarded in
Government auctions and tenders. The UK awarded
5.5 GW of offshore wind in one auction. Poland
awarded 2.2 GW of onshore wind in another.
• Investments in Germany reached a historic low of
€300m, covering a mere 180 MW of onshore wind
projects.
• Denmark is the country with the largest share of
wind energy in its electricity demand (48%). This was
followed by Ireland (33%), Portugal (27%), Germany
(26%) and the UK (22%).

Trends and cumulative installations

• There are now 205 GW of installed wind power

capacity in Europe: 183 GW onshore and 22 GW
offshore.

• Europe decommissioned 178 MW of wind capacity

in 2019. It commissioned 185 MW of repowered
capacity. The total net capacity additions were 15.2
GW (15.4 GW is the gross figure).

• The average power rating of new onshore wind

turbines was 3.1 MW. The average power rating of
new offshore turbines was 7.2 MW.

1. That is EU-28 as it was in 2019

8 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics

WindEurope
 Cumulative
GW Chapter name

15.4 GW
installed 40-50%
capacity WIND ENERGY
Share
(GW)2 30-40% COVERED

15%
of wind
TOTAL EUROPE GW in power
demand3-5 20-30%
New
13.2 GW installations
in 2019 (GW)
10-20% OF EU ELECTRICITY
DEMAND IN 2019
IN THE EU-28
0-10%

0.2
61

2
1.6
0.8

24

0.3
0.01
0.2

0.1 0.1
0.4
4
5 0.4
2.4

17 6
4 2.2
0.5

0.1 11
26 0.6
1
0.1 0.3 0.1

3 0.02 0.003 0.6

0.1 0.2 0.3

3
1.3 0.003 1
0.1 8
0.5 0.1
0.4
0.04
5 0.1 1
0.03
0.04

0.7
0.1 0.7
2.3

0.2
2. Cumulative in each country reflects decommissioning in 2019: Austria (32 MW), Denmark (32 MW), Germany (97 MW), and the UK (17 MW).
3. Grey colored countries did not provide data for electricity generation and consumption to ENTSO-E transparency platform.
4. Data for Croatia’s electricity generation and consumption was provided by the Wind
Croatian Energy
energy Market Operator
in Europe in 2019 -(HROTE).
Trends and statistics 9
5. Data for Turkey’s electricity generation and consumption was provided by the Turkish Wind Energy Association. WindEurope
Source: WindEurope
 Executive summary

TABLE 1
New installations and cumulative capacity in 20196

NEW INSTALLATIONS 2019 CUMULATIVE CAPACITY 20197

EU-28 (MW)
ONSHORE OFFSHORE ONSHORE OFFSHORE TOTAL
Austria 152 - 3,159 - 3,159
Belgium 207 370 2,323 1,556 3,879
Bulgaria - - 691 - 691
Croatia 69 - 652 - 652
Cyprus - - 158 - 158
Czechia 20 - 337 - 337
Denmark 28 374 4,426 1,703 6,128
Estonia 10 - 320 - 320
Finland 243 - 2,213 71 2,284
France 1,336 - 16,644 2 16,646
Germany 1,078 1,111 53,912 7,445 61,357
Greece 727 - 3,576 - 3,576
Hungary - - 329 - 329
Ireland 463 - 4,130 25 4,155
Italy 456 - 10,512 - 10,512
Latvia - - 66 - 66
Lithuania - - 548 - 548
Luxembourg 16 - 136 - 136
Malta - - - - -
Netherlands 97 - 3,482 1,118 4,600
Poland 53 - 5,917 - 5,917
Portugal 61 8 5,429 8 5,437
Romania - - 3,029 - 3,029
Slovakia - - 3 - 3
Slovenia - - 3 - 3
Spain 2,319 - 25,803 5 25,808
Sweden 1,588 - 8,794 192 8,985
UK 629 1,764 13,570 9,945 23,515
Total EU-28 9,552 3,627 170,162 22,069 192,231

NEW INSTALLATIONS 2019 CUMULATIVE CAPACITY 20197

OTHERS (MW)
ONSHORE OFFSHORE ONSHORE OFFSHORE TOTAL
Bosnia & Herzegovina 36 - 87 - 87
Kosovo - - 32 - 32
Montenegro - - 118 - 118
North Macedonia - - 37 - 37
Norway 780 - 2,442 2 2,444
Russia 50 - 191 - 191
Serbia - - 374 - 374
Switzerland - - 75 - 75
Turkey 686 - 8,056 - 8,056
Ukraine 637 - 1,170 - 1,170
Total others 2,190 - 12,581 2 12,583

Total Europe 11,742 3,627 182,743 22,071 204,814

6. All numbers are rounded and therefore may not add up

7. Cumulative capacity reflects decommissioning

10 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics

WindEurope
1.
WIND POWER
INSTALLATIONS
1.1  OVERVIEW
In 2019 new wind installations in Europe were 15.4 GW.
This is up 27% of 2018 but 10% less than the record year
of 2017. Onshore wind installations in Germany continue
to fall. Installations in Spain and Sweden rose significantly.
Onshore installations remained stable in France while
installations in the UK rose due to offshore additions.
76% of the new installations (11.7 GW) were onshore
wind. Spain, Sweden and France together accounted for
45% of these.
Offshore wind was 24% of the new installations, with a
record 3.6 GW of new capacity connected to the grid in
2019. About half the offshore installations were in the UK,
with the rest in Germany, Belgium, Denmark and Portugal.
New wind installations in the EU-28 were 13.2 GW. This
represents 86% of installations in Europe. Installations
rose in Norway, Turkey and Ukraine. Europe decommis-
sioned 178 MW of wind capacity in 2019. So the net new
installations were 15.2 GW.

FIGURE 2
New annual onshore and offshore wind installations in Europe

18
Gross installations (GW)

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Offshore 0.6 0.9 0.8 1.2 1.5 1.5 3.0 1.6 3.2 2.7 3.6
Onshore 10.0 9.6 9.5 11.7 11.0 11.7 10.9 12.3 13.9 9.4 11.7
Total 10.7 10.5 10.3 12.9 12.5 13.3 13.9 13.8 17.1 12.1 15.4

Source: WindEurope

Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 11

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

1.2  NATIONAL BREAKDOWN OF 2019 INSTALLATIONS

The UK accounted for 16% of the new installations in
Europe, more than any other European country. 74% was
offshore, where in the UK installed a record 1.8 GW, half
of all the European offshore installations. The Beatrice
2 wind farm was fully commissioned. Hornsea One con-
nected all its turbines to the grid, making it the largest
offshore wind farm in the world with 1,218 MW.
The UK connected 629 MW of onshore capacity, mostly in
Scotland and Wales (434 MW and 167 MW respectively).
Most of this capacity (595 MW) had been awarded Con-
tracts for Difference (CfD) in Round 1 back in 2015. Today
only remote onshore wind in the Scottish isles can partic-
ipate in the CfD auctions. Projects in other areas rely on
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and other merchant
options.

55% OF NEW WIND POWER

Spain installed 2.3 GW of onshore wind8, 15% of all new
wind capacity in Europe last year. This is its highest volume
since 2009. Most of the installed capacity was awarded
IN EUROPE WAS INSTALLED IN in the 2016 and 2017 auctions, when more than 4 GW of
JUST 4 COUNTRIES: THE UK, SPAIN, wind energy projects won. The remaining capacity from
GERMANY AND SWEDEN those auctions should be connected in 2020.

FIGURE 3
2019 new onshore and offshore wind installations in Europe

UK
16%
2,500
Gross installations (MW)

Spain
2,000 Others 15%
45%

1,500 Germany
14%

1,000 Sweden
10%

500

-
UK

Spain

Germany

Sweden

France

Norway

Greece

Turkey

Ukraine

Belgium

Ireland

Italy

Denmark

Finland

Others

Offshore 1,764 - 1,111 - - - - - - 370 - - 374 - 8

MW

Onshore 629 2,319 1,078 1,588 1,336 780 727 686 637 207 463 456 28 243 563
Total 2,393 2,319 2,189 1,588 1,336 780 727 686 637 577 463 456 402 243 571

 Source: WindEurope

8. Data for Spanish wind installations comes from Red Electrica España

12 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

Germany installed a mere 2.2 GW: 1.1 GW onshore and
1.1 GW offshore. Germany’s onshore installations have
fallen sharply in the last two years. Over 2014 to 2017 they
were installing on average 4.6 GW of new onshore wind
every year. The main problem is complex and lengthy per-
mitting processes. Most of Germany’s new onshore wind
auctions in 2019 were undersubscribed because there
than 1 GW of onshore wind in 2019. In France challeng-
ing weather conditions and administrative delays have
slowed down the construction of new wind farms. But the
industry is ready to deliver on the pace set out in France’s
Energy Plan.

weren’t enough permitted projects. Out of the 3.7 GW of
auctioned capacity, only 1.8 GW was awarded. So onshore
installations are unlikely to pick up much in the short term.
Germany connected 1.1  GW of offshore capacity across
three wind farms: Merkur Offshore, Deutsche Bucht and
EnBW Hohe See.
Sweden was the fourth-largest market with 10% of
Europe’s new installations. Sweden more than doubled
its installations within a year – from 720 MW in 2018 to
1,588  MW in 2019. The strong onshore installations in
Sweden are expected to remain high in the next couple of
years, but as the joint Swedish-Norwegian electricity cer-
tificate is set to phase out after 2021 there is significant
uncertainty for future installations. Given the decreasing
value of the green certificates, projects that are being
built will operate in a largely merchant environment.
France installed 1.3 GW, 9% of new installations in Europe.
France was one of the four countries that installed more
24%
OF WIND INSTALLATIONS
IN 2019 CAME FROM OFFSHORE WIND
Installations in Greece (723 MW) were a record with
a good outlook for the next couple of years. Ireland
(463  MW) maintains its pace of new installation, while
Italy (456  MW) remains a constrained market given
the scale of both the size of the country and electricity
demand.
Outside the EU, Norway, Turkey and Ukraine each installed
between 600 and 800 MW.
14 countries did not have any wind installations in 2019.
Nine of these were EU-28 Member States.

FIGURE 4
Distribution of the new wind installations in Europe

18,000

16,000
Gross installations (MW)

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000
-
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Germany Spain UK France Sweden Others

Source: WindEurope

Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 13

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

1.3  CUMULATIVE WIND POWER INSTALLATIONS

205 GW of wind power capacity is now installed in Europe. Five other countries (Sweden, Turkey, Denmark, Poland
89% of this is onshore. 11% of it is offshore. Germany and Portugal) have more than 5 GW installed. Five more
remains the country with the largest installed capacity countries have over 3 GW of installed capacity: the Neth-
in Europe, followed by Spain, the UK, France and Italy. erlands, Ireland, Belgium, Austria and Romania.

In the EU-28 installed capacity reached 192 GW. EU-27

205 GW now have 169 GW of installed wind capacity.

OF WIND POWER ARE NOW INSTALLED

IN EUROPE

FIGURE 5
Total installed wind power capacity in Europe

250

200
Cumulative capacity (GW)

150

100

50

0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Offshore 2 3 4 5 7 8 11 13 16 18 22
Onshore 75 84 93 105 115 127 137 149 162 171 183
Total 77 87 97 110 122 135 148 162 178 189 205

Source: WindEurope

14 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

67% of all wind power capacity in Europe is in 5 countries:

Germany (61 GW), Spain (26 GW), the UK (24 GW), France
(17 GW), and Italy (11 GW). Sweden, Turkey and Poland
follow with 9 GW, 8 GW and 6 GW respectively.
67% OF WIND POWER
IN EUROPE IS IN 5 COUNTRIES

FIGURE 6
Total installed wind power capacity by country

70

60
Others Germany
33% 30%
50
Cumulative capacity (GW)

40

Italy
30 5% Spain
France
13%
8% UK
11%
20

10

0
Germany

Spain

UK

France

Italy

Sweden

Turkey

Denmark

Poland

Portugal

Netherlands

Ireland

Belgium

Greece

Others

Offshore 7 - 10 - - - - 2 - - 1 - 2 - -
Onshore 54 26 14 17 11 9 8 4 6 5 3 4 2 4 16
Total 61 26 24 17 11 9 8 6 6 5 4 4 4 4 16

 Source: WindEurope

Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 15

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

1.4  DECOMMISSIONING AND REPOWERING

OF WIND FARMS
In 2019 only 178 MW of wind power was decommis- 17 MW and France 0.2 MW. Nearly all of the decommis-
sioned, down from 451 MW in 2018. Germany decommis- sioned capacity was onshore (174 MW) and 4 MW were
sioned 97 MW, Austria 32 MW, Denmark 32 MW, the UK offshore.

Of the 11.7 GW of new onshore wind installed in 2019,

178 MW
only 185 MW were repowering projects. This comes from
projects decommissioned in 2018 and 2019. The major-
ity came from Germany, but there was also repowering
OF WIND POWER WERE in Austria, Greece and the UK. Lack of regulatory support,
DECOMMISSIONED IN 2019. 185 MW OF complex permitting rules and high wholesale electricity
REPOWERED CAPACITY CAME ON LINE. prices were the main reasons for low market activity in
decommissioning and repowering.

FIGURE 7
Decommissioned and repowered capacity

1,200

1,000

800
Capacity (MW)

600

400

200

-
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Decommissioned capacity Repowered capacity

Repowering terminology
Example - Tauerwindpark (Austria)

Old project New project

Number of turbines 13 Number of turbines 9

Turbine power rating 1.8 Turbine power rating 3.5
Capacity under repowering 23 Repowered capacity 31

Decommissioned capacity = Capacity under repowering + Fully decommissioned capacity

 Source: WindEurope

16 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

1.5  WIND POWER GENERATION

In 2019 wind energy generated enough electricity to meet
15% of the EU’s electricity demand9. This is one percent-
age point higher than 2018 and results from the new
installations as well as windy conditions around Europe
throughout 201910.
Denmark had the highest share of wind in its electric-
ity mix (48%), followed by Ireland (33%), Portugal (27%)
and Germany (26%). 12 Member States had a wind share
above 10%.

FIGURE 8
Percentage of the electricity demand covered by wind in 201911

EU-28 15%

Denmark 48%
Ireland 33%
Portugal 27%
Germany 26%
UK 22%
Spain 21%
Sweden 15%
Austria 13%
Lithuania 12%
Greece 12%
Netherlands 12%
Romania 11%
Belgium 10%
Estonia 9%
Poland 9%
Croatia 8%
Turkey 7%
Italy 7%
France 7%
Finland 7%
Cyprus 6%
Norway 4%
Bulgaria 3%
Latvia 2%
Hungary 2%
Czechia 1%
Switzerland 0%
Slovenia 0%
Slovakia 0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Onshore Offshore

 Source: WindEurope

9. At time of publication, generation data for Luxemburg and Malta was not available (their combined demand represents less than 1%
of EU demand).
10. Data from ENTSO-E transparency platform. It excludes data for Luxemburg and Malta. Data for the UK comes from BEIS quarterly
reports (estimated for Q4 2019). Data for Croatia comes from the Croatian Energy Market Operator (HROTE). Data for Turkey comes
from the Turkish Wind Energy Association.
11. The figures represent the average of the share of wind in final electricity demand, captured hourly from ENTSO-E and corrected
thanks to national TSOs and government data. Data is not available from all European countries.

Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 17

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

TABLE 3
Electricity production from wind power (TWh)

ONSHORE OFFSHORE TOTAL WIND SHARE OF EU

EU ELECTRICITY
WIND ENERGY WIND ENERGY ENERGY CONSUMPTION
CONSUMPTION
PRODUCTION PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MET BY WIND
(TWH)12
(TWH) (TWH) (TWH) ENERGY
2,900 350 67 417 15%

Europe’s wind farms produced a stable output throughout
the year with a daily peak production12 of 102 GW regis-
tered on 13 March.
Capacity factors of the EU’s fleet of wind farms were on
average 26%. Average capacity factors for onshore wind
were 24% and for offshore wind were 38%. These numbers
are relatively low as they represent the performance of the
entire wind fleet, including very old wind farms. The latter
tend to have turbines with relatively small rotors (short
blades). Modern turbines have larger blades and and can
generate power at lower wind speeds, increasing their
capacity factors. Capacity factors for new onshore wind
farms are 30-35%. For new offshore wind farms they range
between 35% and 55%14.

FIGURE 9
Spread of the hourly electricity demand covered by wind
100
offshore generation (GW)
Combined onshore and

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

90% of the time, wind generation is less than this (“P10”)

  Source: WindEurope
Most frequent hourly wind energy generation - there is an
equal probability of more or less generation in an hour (“P50”)

90% of the time, wind generation is more than this (“P90”)

Wind energy production is variable. The hourly variability
follows a clear patter throughout the year. Figure 9 shows
the range of the hourly electricity generation from wind
energy in each month during 2019. March was the month
with the highest average hourly generation. 90% of the
time in March wind energy generated more than 34 GW
of electricity an hour in the EU.
Over June to August the amount of electricity produced
by wind energy was lower (shown by the size of the boxes
above). Wind energy generation peaked in the winter
months, although in the winter the variation in hourly
generation is also higher than in summer.

12. See footnote 7.

13. Average hourly power output during one full day
14. See Analysis of individual offshore wind farms by Energy Numbers.info (February 2020)

18 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

EUROPEAN WIND ENERGY GENERATION 2019

48% 33% 27% 26% 22%

15%
of EU’s electricity demand
26%
Average capacity factor Highest wind energy shares

ONSHORE OFFSHORE

170 GW 22 GW
onshore wind capacity offshore wind capacity

12.2% 2.3%
onshore wind in EU’s offshore wind in EU’s
electricity demand electricity demand

24% 38%
average onshore wind average offshore wind
capacity factor capacity factor

European wind energy generation in 2019

120
13 March
Record in wind production
100

80
GW

60

40

20

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Onshore wind Offshore wind

Data refers to EU Member States only
Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 19
WindEurope
 Wind power installations

1.6 WIND TURBINE SIZE

The size and type of wind turbines installed in Europe var- of 8.4 MW. The V164-8.4 MW from MHI Vestas Offshore
ied significantly between countries. On average, the most Wind, with a rotor diameter of 164m, was installed in
powerful onshore wind turbines were installed in Finland, Deutsche Bucht (Germany) and Norther (Belgium). In Por-
with an average rating of 4.3 MW. Greece had the lowest tugal the V164-8.4 MW was used at the Windfloat Atlantic
average power rating, at 2.3 MW. Based on the available floating offshore wind farm.
data from 14 countries, the weighted average power rat-
ing of onshore turbines was 3.1 MW. The largest turbine in the world is GE’s Haliade-X, the
industry’s first 12  MW turbine. The first prototype was
In 2019 the average rated capacity of newly installed off- installed at the Port of Rotterdam in 2019 (onshore) for
shore turbines was 7.2 MW, up from 6.8 MW in 2018. Bel- testing. Its commercialisation is expected in 2021.
gium and Portugal had the highest average power rating

rating (MW)
600 5.0
FIGURE 10
4.5
of turbines

Number of turbines
500installed in 2019 and their average power rating 4.0

power(MW)
400
600 3.5
5.0
3.0
4.5
of turbines

300
500 2.5
4.0

power rating
2.0
3.5
200
NumberNumber

400 1.5
3.0
100
300 1.0
2.5

Average
0.5
2.0
0
200 0.0
1.5
France France

SwedenSweden

Germany

Greece Greece

UK

NorwayNorway

Turkey Turkey

UkraineUkraine

Ireland Ireland

Italy

FinlandFinland

AustriaAustria

CroatiaCroatia

Russia Russia
100 1.0

Average
0.5
0 0.0
Germany

UK

Italy

Number of
511 447 325 314 230 204 200 166 163 154 56 49 24 14
turbines
Average
2.6 3.6 3.3 2.3 2.7 3.8 3.4 3.8 2.8 3 4.3 3.1 2.9 3.6
power rating

300 9
8
of turbines

250
power power

7
rating (MW) (MW)

200
300 69
58
of turbines

150
250 47
Average
rating

100 36
NumberNumber

200 Number of turbines

25 Average power rating
50
150 14
Average

0
100 03
Number of turbines
UK

Germany

Denmark

BelgiumBelgium

Portugal

2 Average power rating

50
1
0 0
UK

Germany

Denmark

Portugal

Number of
252 160 45 44 1
turbines
Average
7 6.9 8.3 8.4 8.4
power rating
 Source: WindEurope

20 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics

WindEurope
 Wind power installations

1.7 AUCTIONS AND TENDERS IN 2019

In 2019 11 countries held renewable energy auctions in
which wind energy won, and the total new wind volumes
secured were 15.4 GW. Onshore wind secured 8.6 GW
and offshore 6.8 GW. It is hard to compare auction results
between different countries due to differences between
support mechanisms and their length, as well as the
maturity of markets, and conditions surrounding the auc-
tions such as cost of capital (WACC), permitting and other
sources of revenue or risks for developers.
with 5.5 GW of offshore capacity at an average price of
£40.63/MWh (€46.16/MWh)15 including grid-connection.
In Germany five out of the six onshore wind auctions held
in 2019 were undersubscribed. Only 1.8 GW out of the
offered 3.7 GW were awarded due to difficulties faced by
project promoters to gather all the necessary permits.

Nevertheless, several auction results were notable: Poland

held Europe’s largest onshore wind auction, awarding
15 GW
WAS AWARDED TO WIND THROUGH
2.2 GW of capacity at an average price of €49/MWh. In the AUCTIONS AND TENDERS IN 2019
UK the latest auction round awarded more than 5.7 GW,

TABLE 4
Successful auctions and tenders for wind energy in 2019

Country MW AWARDED TYPE OF AUCTION SUPPORT MECHANISM16 PRICE IN €/MWH

Denmark 135 Technology-neutral Feed-in-premium (fixed) 1.34 – 2.6417
516 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 63
France
576 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 66,5
476 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 52.4 – 62
270 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 54 – 62
208 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 61.9 – 62
Germany
176 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 61.9 – 62
204 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 61.9 – 62
509 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 57.4 – 61.8
180 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 59.1 – 69.2
Greece 67 Technology-neutral Feed-in-premium (floating) 60
224 Technology-specific Feed-in-premium (floating) 55.8 – 61.9
Italy 495 Technology-neutral Contract for difference 48.6 – 66.5
Lithuania 75 Technology-neutral Feed-in-premium (fixed) 0
143 Technology-neutral Feed-in-premium (floating) Not Available
Netherlands
640 Technology-neutral Feed-in-premium (floating) Not Available
Poland 2,200 Technology-neutral Contract for difference 37.7 – 53.9
Spain 217 Technology-specific CAPEX discount Not Available
Turkey 1,000 Technology-specific Feed-in-Tariff 31 – 4018
UK 275 Technology-specific Contract for difference 43.8 – 46

Country MW AWARDED TYPE OF AUCTION SUPPORT MECHANISM PRICE IN €/MWH

France 600 Technology-specific Contract for difference 44
Netherlands 760 Technology-specific Zero-subsidy bid 0
UK 5,466 Technology-specific Contract for difference 43.8 – 46

15. UK prices are 2012 indexed

16. For an explanation between the different types of auctions see Annex 1.
17. The price reflects the premium on top of the wholesale electricity price in Denmark, while other countries with a feed-in-premium
(floating) already include the wholesale electricity price.
18. Because of the Local Content Rule in Turkey, low revenue can be compensated with local content price premiums.
Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 21
WindEurope
 Chapter name

Photo: Jason Bickley

22 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics
WindEurope
2.
INVESTMENT
NUMBERS IN 2019
Investments in new wind farms in 2019 were €19bn, a
24% drop on 2018. 11.5 GW of new wind projects reached
Final Investment Decision (FID): 10.1 GW in onshore wind
and 1.4 GW in offshore wind. This represents the second
largest amount of capacity financed in a year, albeit
significantly less than the record 16 GW in 2018.
FIGURE 11
New asset finance in wind energy 2010 – 201919 
In monetary terms investments were at their lowest since
2013. The €6bn in offshore wind energy investments
(€5.5bn for bottom-fix and €0.5bn for floating) was the
lowest amount in the last 6 years. However, onshore
investments were solid at €13bn. Cost reductions
across the industry’s value chain and increased industry
competition have made it possible for investors to finance
more capacity for less cash.

New asset finance in wind energy 2010-2019 (€bn)

30 20
18

Capacity financed (GW)

25
16
Investment (€bn)

20 14
12
15 10
8
10 6
5 4
2
0 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Offshore wind
investment (€bn) 8.4 6.1 5.0 7.2 8.8 13.1 18.2 7.5 10.3 6.0

Onshore wind
investment (€bn) 8.1 6.5 6.7 7.2 12.3 13.1 9.3 15.0 14.6 13.0

New capacity
financed (GW) 8.9 6.3 5.8 6.7 10.0 9.7 10.3 11.4 16.0 11.5

 Source: WindEurope

19. Figures include only new asset financing. Project refinancing and public markets are not included in the investment activity.
2018 onshore investments and capacity financed restated.

Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 23

WindEurope
 Investment numbers in 2019

The geographical spread of investments was similar to financing of the Neart na Gaoithe wind farm, also to be
2018, with the top 3 investor countries contributing 44% developed by EDF.
of FID announcements. This compares to 43%, 64% and
73% in 2018, 2017 and in 2016 respectively. Sweden raised €2.3bn for the construction of 2  GW of
onshore wind farms.
Spain led the way with investments in new wind energy
assets in 2019 generating total financing activity of Investment in Germany reached a record low of €300m,
€2.8bn, supporting the construction of 2.8  GW of new raising capital for a mere 180 MW of onshore wind
onshore wind farms. projects.

France was the largest investor in offshore wind in 2019, Investments in non-EU countries totalled €3.9bn, repre-
with €2.4bn for the finance of a single offshore wind farm, senting 21% of total investments. Outside the EU, Tur-
EDF’s 480  MW Saint-Naizaire. The UK was the second key, Norway and Ukraine led the investments, mostly in
largest investor in offshore wind, raising €2.3bn for the onshore wind.

FIGURE 11
New asset financing in 2019 by country
New(€bn and GW)
asset investments per country 2019 (€bn)

3.0 3.0

2.5 2.5

Capacity financed (GW)

Investment (€bn)

2.0 2.0

1.5 1.5

1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5

0.0 0.0
Spain
UK
France
Sweden
Netherlands
Turkey
Ukraine
Norway
Poland
Russia
Finland
Ireland
Greece
Germany
Italy
Denmark
Kosovo
Portugal
Others

Offshore wind
investment (€bn) 0.0 2.3 2.4 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Onshore wind
investment (€bn) 2.8 0.4 0.3 2.3 0.8 1.1 1.0 0.4 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3
New capacity
financed (GW) 2.8 0.7 0.6 2.0 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.2 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.2

 Source: WindEurope

24 Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics

WindEurope
 Annexes

ANNEX 1

TABLE 5

SUPPORT MECHANISM DESCRIPTION

A type of price-based policy instrument whereby eligible renewable energy generators

Feed-in-Tariffs are paid a fixed price at a guaranteed level (irrespective of the wholesale price) for the
RES electricity produced and fed into the grid.
A type of price-based policy instrument whereby eligible renewable energy generators
Feed-in-premium (fixed) are paid a premium price which is a payment (x€/MWh) in addition to the wholesale
price.
A type of price-based policy instrument whereby eligible renewable energy generators
are paid a premium price which is a payment in addition to the wholesale price. The
Feed-in-premium (floating) floating premium would be calculated as the difference between an average wholesale
price and a previously defined guaranteed price. Effectively it works as a floor price,
guarantees always a minimum revenue.
Similar to the floating premium. However, under contracts for difference, if the whole-
Contracts for differences sale price rises above the guaranteed price, generators are required to pay back the
difference between the guaranteed price and the wholesale price.
Developers compete for the right to build a wind farm in a tender in which the selection
criteria is not based on the price. The selection is made according to the experience of
the bidders, the quality of the project design, the capacity of the project and the social
Zero-subsidy bids (Dutch
costs, with added weight given to the quality of the survey, risk analysis and mitigation
model)
measures.
While the winner doesn’t receive any price premium, the transmission costs for the
project are covered by the government.
A tradable commodity proving that certain electricity is generated using renewable
Green Certificates energy sources. May have guaranteed minimum prices. The certificates can be traded
separately from the energy produced.

Wind energy in Europe in 2019 - Trends and statistics 25

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WindEurope is the voice of the wind industry, actively
promoting wind power in Europe and worldwide. It
has over 400 members with headquarters in more
than 35 countries, including the leading wind turbine
manufacturers, component suppliers, research insti-
tutes, national wind energy associations, developers,
contractors, electricity providers, financial institutions,
insurance companies and consultants. This combined
strength makes WindEurope Europe’s largest and most
powerful wind energy network.

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T +32 2 213 1811 · F +32 2 213 1890
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