Diagnostic Toolkit for Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Solar, Wind and Pumped Hydro Storage in the European Union

7. Wind energy

Abstract

This section analyses the potential for both onshore and offshore wind and sets out distinguishing features and regulatory needs that will then be analysed in the following two separate chapters.

7.1. Introduction

7.1.1. Wind power as a key energy source to achieve the green transition

Wind energy is both an established reality and a highly promising renewable energy source in Europe for both onshore and offshore wind installations. Wind already represents one fifth of the European energy generation and its consistent growth in the past two decades, distinguishes it with respect to other electricity generation options, except for solar (as the latter is also growing significantly, especially in the past 5 years). Wind energy presents several strengths, notably the fact that it is a safe, available and cost-effective source of electricity in the EU (European Commission, 2023[1]). In 2022, it accounted for 16% of the electricity consumed in the EU (IRENA, 2024[2]) and it is currently accounting for 20% of the electricity consumed in Europe (Wind Europe, 2024[3]).

Wind energy technologies developed and scaled up in Europe have become much cheaper over the last 10 years, thanks to innovation and economies of scale (European Commission, 2023[1]), making wind the cheapest source of electricity in many parts of Europe (Georgakaki, 2023[4]). There has been a significant reduction in costs over the past decade: for instance, between 2010 and 2023, the global weighted average cost of energy of onshore wind fell 70% due to wind turbine cost declines and capacity factor increases from turbine technology improvements (IRENA, 2024[2]). As with solar energy, wind power is more competitive than other thermal electricity generation options, both in terms of Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE)1 and Value Added LCOE (VALCOE). The only option with a better profile is the expansion of existing nuclear capacity (IEA, 2020[5]) (IEA, 2025[6]).

Both onshore and offshore wind energy are showing continued cost reductions – which are expected to further continue via scale effects and technological developments, offsetting recent inflationary pressures. With the outbreak of the pandemic emergency in 2020, an increase in LCOE has been observed because of commodity price inflation, increased transport costs and supply chain disruptions (Tapoglou, 2023[7]). In early 2023, due to inflation in commodity prices and other input costs, the price of wind turbines increased by up to 40% over the last two years (Wind Europe, 2023[8]). Although commodity and transport prices have fallen from their 2022 peaks, they remain high compared with 2020, in addition to rising financing costs for developers that have increased due to rising interest rates (IEA, 2023[9]). As supply chains recover, inflation eases and technology learning keeps delivering improvements, the cost of wind is expected to resume a downward trend.

A growth in installed capacity from 204 GW in 2022 to more than 500 GW in 2030 is required to reach the EU target of having at least 42.5% renewable energy by 2030 (European Commission, 2023[1])2. In 2021, the EU had 188 GW of installed capacity of wind energy, 92% in onshore wind farms and 8% offshore (Eurostat, 2021[10]) while in 2024 EU Member States are estimated to have at least 225 GW of wind power capacity, of which 205 GW is onshore and 21 GW offshore (Wind Europe, 2024[11]). The reversal of cost increases determined by the Covid-19 pandemic and recent geopolitical developments, combined with the removal of barriers for an increased deployment of wind energy, will be key to enable this growth. Early signals of this reversal are already visible from data on wind turbine orders, which recovered across the EU in 2024, from auctions awarded for new capacity, estimated at 28 GW across the EU in 2024 and already announced for 2025 for a potential of 71 GW (EMBER, 2025[12]).

7.1.2. Onshore vs. offshore wind

Some characteristics differentiate onshore and offshore wind. The installation of its capacity is a key element differentiating onshore with offshore wind: onshore wind energy is the electricity generated by wind turbines located on land whereas offshore wind farms have turbines located at sea.

For wind generation, in 2024 onshore capacity was estimated to exceed 205 GW (17% of the EU electricity demand) while offshore wind capacity was 21 GW (2% of EU electricity demand) (Wind Europe, 2024[13]). With more than 5.1 GW of new wind farm capacity connected to the grid, offshore wind accounted for 28% of installations in Europe since 2022: almost 40% of the new capacity was installed in the Netherlands (1.9 GW), with the rest coming from France (1.5 GW), the UK (1.2 GW), and Denmark (360 MW) and Germany (257 MW) (Wind Europe, 2024[13]).

Costs of onshore wind farms tend to be lower than offshore, making onshore wind more attractive from an economic standpoint. The lower costs of onshore wind stem from shorter cables and technical installations (e.g. substations) that are less exposed to risk factors (e.g. moisture, tides, currents), despite higher costs for land rights and reliance on underground grid connection infrastructure. Key cost advantages for offshore wind can arise from lower transport-related constraints, enabling the use of larger scale turbines for offshore installations, with scale advantages and better capacity to generate electricity also at lower wind speed, enabling higher capacity factors.

7.2. The importance of the regulatory framework

The regulatory framework plays a key role both in achieving an adequate level of deployment and in attracting new investors (González and Lacal-Arántegui, 2016[14]), adapting the provisions according to the characteristics of the wind energy in question. It is indeed crucial to ensure regulatory stability and an efficient market structure by removing barriers – such as the complexity of authorisation and connection procedures – to allow and promote the installation of new wind farms.

Wind energy has unique characteristics that influence its regulatory needs compared to other energy technologies. These include the fact that wind energy production is dependent on weather conditions and may vary on short timescales; wind farms must be sited where wind resources are adequate, which may lead to projects in remote areas or offshore locations, and that wind turbines have unique technical and operational requirements.

Significant impacts of recent regulatory developments can be observed in the surge of authorisation following legislative change (See Box 7.1). An example was the volume of authorisations granted for onshore wind energy since the entry into force of the European Emergency Regulation at the end of 20233, provides clear evidence, as several Member States have recorded a significant increase, countering the headwinds induced from cost increases that were occurring in the same timeframe. Wind electricity developments in 2023 in Germany and Spain, in particular, provide two relevant illustrations of policy effectiveness. Data collected by the industry (Wind Europe, 2024[15]) indicate an increase in permitted volumes in Germany from 4.343 MW in 2022 to 7.504 MW in 2023 (change of 72.8%) and in Spain from 1.796 MW in 2022 to 3.041 MW (change of 69.3%). More recent data shows the impact of the new provisions on both grid permitting and onshore wind permitting in Germany (BDEW, 2024[16]): in terms of grid permitting, 1,336 km were permitted in Q2-Q3 2023, with a time saving of 6-12 months (up to 3 years if combined with other measures), while for onshore wind, January and February 2024 saw a doubling of approvals compared to 2022. This rapid development has been made possible by changes to the time limits for consent procedures, the overriding public interest rules and the possibility of waiving Environmental Impact Assessments, as further discussed below.

Box 7.1. European Wind Power Action Plan

A Wind Power Action Plan was launched by the European Commission in October 2023 with the aim of increasing competitiveness, improving auction design, stimulating investment in clean technologies, simplifying licensing and ensuring fair competition. It is a comprehensive framework designed to support the rapid scaling up of wind energy across Europe to meet ambitious climate targets. The plan outlines several critical areas for action to ensure the wind sector can grow sustainably and meet the EU's target of 450 GW installed wind capacity by 2030, thus supporting the goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

Actions

The Action Plan define the immediate actions that are required together by the Commission, the Member States and industry, building on existing policies and legislation. It focuses on six main areas, including faster permitting and improved auction design (which are also the focus of this work), alongside access to finance; a fair and competitive international environment; skills and industry engagement and Member States commitments.

• On faster permitting, the Commission calls on Member States to work together to accelerate permissions and increase the visibility of the wind project pipeline through wind commitments, the publication of medium-term auction programmes and long-term plans for renewable energy deployment.

• On improved auction design, Member States are required to include objective, transparent and non-discriminatory qualitative criteria and measures in their auctions to maximise the execution rate of projects, supported by the Commission's recommendations and guidelines.

Source: (European Commission, 2023[1]).

References

[16] BDEW (2024), What can we learn from Germany? Boosting RES and the implications on biodiversity, https://www.tilmeld.dk/groenenergiognatur2024/download-zip?data=390959.

[12] EMBER (2025), EMBER European Electricity Review 2025.

[1] European Commission (2023), European Wind Power Action Plan, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52023DC0669.

[10] Eurostat (2021), Electricity production capacities for renewables and wastes, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nrg_inf_epcrw/default/table?lang=en.

[4] Georgakaki, A. (2023), Clean Energy Technology Observatory: Overall Strategic Analysis of Clean Energy Technology in the European Union - 2023 Status Report, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135404.

[14] González, J. and R. Lacal-Arántegui (2016), A review of regulatory framework for wind energy in European Union countries: Current state and expected developments, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032115013581.

[6] IEA (2025), The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-path-to-a-new-era-for-nuclear-energy.

[9] IEA (2023), Renewable Energy Market Update - June 2023, https://www.iea.org/reports/renewable-energy-market-update-june-2023.

[5] IEA (2020), Projected Costs of Generating Electricity 2020, https://www.iea.org/reports/projected-costs-of-generating-electricity-2020.

[2] IRENA (2024), Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023, https://www.irena.org/Publications/2024/Sep/Renewable-Power-Generation-Costs-in-2023.

[17] IRENA (2023), The changing role of hydropower: Challenges and opportunities.

[7] Tapoglou, E. (2023), Clean Energy Technology Observatory: Wind energy in the European Union - 2023 Status Report on Technology Development, Trends, Value Chains and Markets, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135020.

[11] Wind Europe (2024), Latest wind energy data for Europe (Autumn 2024), https://windeurope.org/intelligence-platform/product/latest-wind-energy-data-for-europe-autumn-2024/.

[13] Wind Europe (2024), Wind energy in Europe: 2023 Statistics and the outlook for 2024-2030, https://windeurope.org/intelligence-platform/product/wind-energy-in-europe-2023-statistics-and-the-outlook-for-2024-2030/.

[15] Wind Europe (2024), Wind Energy Permitting Insights, https://windeurope.org/intelligence-platform/product/permitting/.

[3] Wind Europe (2024), WindEurope’s five asks for the next five years, https://windeurope.org/newsroom/news/windeuropes-five-asks-for-the-next-five-years/#:~:text=Wind%20energy%20is%2020%25%20of,And%20over%20half%20by%202050.

[8] Wind Europe (2023), Europe invested €17bn in new wind in 2022, the lowest since 2009, https://windeurope.org/newsroom/press-releases/europe-invested-e17bn-in-new-wind-in-2022-the-lowest-since-2009/#:~:text=Rising%20costs%20for%20raw%20materials,over%20the%20last%20two%20years.

Notes

← 1.  The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is defined as the aggregated discounted lifetime cost (fixed plus variable costs) of generating electricity per unit of output and is expressed in EUR per MWh. Levelized costs can be calculated for a specific power plant or for generic types of generation technologies and it is common practice in policy, academic and industry reports to compare the LCOE of different technologies.

← 2.  Globally, the annual wind capacity additions would have to reach at least 329 GW per year until 2030 in order to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, which means more than quadrupling today’s deployment levels (75 GW) (IRENA, 2023[17]).

← 3.  Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 of 22 December 2022 laying down a framework to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy (OJ L 335, 29.12.2022)