Installation levels for wind farms in Europe remained steady in the first half of this year despite the impacts of Covid-19 with over 5GW installed, comparable to previous years, according to new analysis by WindEurope.
The ‘The Impact of Covid-19 on Europe’s wind sector’ report said that 3.9GW was built onshore and 1.2GW offshore in the first half of the year.
Onshore installations were just over the average of the previous three years of 3.7GW.
Offshore installations were lower than the three-year average of 1.5GW.
Germany had the most onshore installations (587MW), although well below historic levels, followed by France (494MW).
For offshore wind the leader board looks different with UK having installed most new offshore capacity (483MW), followed by Belgium (235MW), the Netherlands (224MW) and Germany (213MW).
WindEurope said its initial 2020 forecast of 17.7GW is now unlikely, with the shortfall likely to be around 20%.
Wind delivered 17% of Europe’s electricity in the period, while financing for new wind farms reached a record €14.3bn.
Offshore wind energy had a particularly strong half year with €11bn of the financing raised.
WindEurope chief policy officer Pierre Tardieu said: “The first half of 2020 was anything but business as usual. Europe implemented unprecedented measures to counter the health crisis which affected all areas of the economy.
“But wind remained resilient. Our turbines produced a record amount of electricity. National governments held competitive auctions.
“And our industry continued to build new wind farms applying strict health and safety protocols.”
WindEurope added that due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the wind industry supply chain experienced major disruptions in the six months up to the end of June, particularly on the production and assembly of wind turbine components and imports of subcomponents, mainly from Asia.
European factories experienced temporary closures, especially in the most affected countries Italy and Spain, in response to national government measures.
Covid-19 also affected electricity demand and generation in the first six months of the year.
Electricity demand in most European countries dropped as much as 25% during the worst period (mid-March to mid-May).
Wind produced 241 terrawatt-hours of electricity covering 17% of Europe’s demand.