EWEA – Half of EU power requirement could be filled by wind by 2050

In a new report “Pure Power”, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) claims half of the EU’s electricity demand could be met by wind power by 2050. At present, wind energy meets around 5.3% of the bloc’s power consumption.

While EWEA admits this is an optimum figure, it expects wind energy to more than triple its power output by 2020. “Wind energy will more than triple its power output by 2020 with 194 billion Euros invested in European onshore and offshore wind farms in this decade”, said Justin Wilkes, policy director of EWEA. “This success is mainly driven by a strong EU regulatory framework to 2020, which we need also after 2020″.

“Wind power will not only make a very substantial contribution to meeting Europe’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It strongly accelerates a shift away from expensive fossil fuels, creates jobs, makes Europe more competitive, and provides secure and renewable power production in Europe”, said Wilkes.

Power production from wind is envisaged to rise from 182TWh or 5.5% of the total EU demand in 2010 to 581TWh or 15.7% of total demand in 2020. By 2030, 1154TWh would be generated by wind, representing 28% of total electricity demand.