EU 27 countries will collectively meet and beat targets of 20% of their energy consumption coming from renewable sources by 2020 according to an analysis from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).
Justin Wilkes, Policy Director of the European Wind Energy Association says collectively, the Action Plans for member countries show the EU 27 will reach 20.7% of it’s energy consumption from renewable energy resources and 34% of its electricity usage.
Wind power will provide the bulk of the energy – around 14% of Europe’s total electricity consumption. This will represent a major jump from 2009 when its share was just 4.2%. Of all member countries, Ireland will be the country with the highest wind power level at 36.4% of its total electricity demand, followed by Denmark at 31%.
During 2020, 494.7 terawatt hours is expected to be generated by wind turbines in the EU. Overall, 1,199 terawatt hours will be generated from renewable energy sources during that year. A terawatt is equal to one trillion watt hours.
By 2020, 10.5% of EU electricity demand will be met by hydro, 6.6% from biomass, 2.4% from solar photovoltaic (solar panel based production), 0.5% from concentrated solar power (CSP), 0.3% from geothermal energy and 0.1% from ocean resources.
The EWEA has over 600 members from nearly 60 countries; including manufacturers with a 90% share of the global wind power market.
* The EU 27 consists of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
