Six countries provided for over 70% of new capacity: Germany (25%), Great Britain (12%), France (11%), Finland (9%), Turkey (8%) and Spain (7%). Sweeden, Poland, Italy and Lithuania also belong to the top ten. Only three countries implemented off-shore wind farms projects: Great Britain, Germany and France, where the major projects are Moray West (882 MW), Baltic Eagle (477 MW) and Saint Brieuc (360 MW).
By the end of the last year, the installed capacity of wind farms in Europe reached 285 GW, which is compatible with the capacity of all the operating power plants of the Unified Energy System (UES) of Russia (263.7 GW). By the beginning of 2025, Germany, Great Britain and Spain accounted for almost half of the installed capacity, France, Sweeden and Turkey – for another 20%. The following countries were the leaders in terms of the wind farms’ share in the energy mix: Denmark (56%), Ireland (33%) and Sweeden (31%), while as Bulgaria (4%), Hungary (1%) and Czech Republic (1%) were in the end of the list.
The results of the last year confirmed the trend for using high-capacity turbines providing for cost saving. The average capacity of the onshore wind farms commissioned in European countries grew from 2.5 MW in 2015 up to 4.6 MW in 2024, and of the off-shore wind farms – from 4.2 MW up to 10.1 MW respectively. Among other things, it resulted in cheapening of the technologies: according to the estimates by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the worldwide average cost of launching onshore wind farms decreased by 39% between 2015 and 2023 (down to USD 1,160 by 1 MW), and for off-shore wind farms – by 54% (down to USD 2,800 by 1 MW).
Technological development is the main driver for upgrading the existing wind farms. According to WindEurope, the operators reconnected 1.56 GW to the grid upon completion of the wind farms retrofit, i.e., three times more than in (519 MW). During the coming years, Germany and Spain will be especially active in implementing such projects, because in these countries the average operating life of wind farms reached 12 and 14 years respectively.
According to the forecast by WindEurope, 187 GW of new wind farms will be commissioned in Europe between 2025 and 2030. 75% of them will be onshore projects, and 25% – off-shore ones. By 2030, the installed capacity of wind farms in Europe will reach 450 GW.
