EU marks single-year record in new wind additions in 2023

The European Union built 17 gigawatts (GW) of new wind energy in 2023, slightly up on 2022 and marking a new single-year record, WindEurope revealed in a statement on Friday.

The EU built 14 GW of onshore wind power plants and 3 GW of offshore plants last year. In total, wind power represented a 19% share of all electricity produced in Europe in 2023.

However, despite the record additions, WindEurope said this volume is not enough to reach the EU’s 2030 renewable targets, adding that 30 GW of new wind is needed between now and 2030 to do so.

‘These numbers are slightly up on 2022 and are the most the EU has ever built in a single year. But 17 GW is well below the 30 GW a year that the EU needs to build to meet its new 2030 climate and energy security targets,’ the organization said.

Germany built the most new wind capacity, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden.

The Netherlands developed the most new offshore wind, including the 1.5 GW Hollandse Kust Zuid, currently the world’s largest wind farm.

• European Union
• gigawatts (GW)