Europe added 19GW of wind energy capacity in 2022 but fell short of what it needs to meet it 2030 goals, WindEurope has stated.
According to the WindEurope Annual Statistics report 2022, 16GW of the total were added within the EU, around 40% more than in 2021.
Germany built the most followed by Sweden, Finland, France and the UK. Europe now has 255GW of wind energy capacity.
In addition, 87% of the new wind capacity Europe built last year was onshore, with only 2.5GW of new offshore wind farms added.
However, WindEurope said that the EU needs to build on average 31GW every year up to 2030.
Currently, the group predicts that over 2023-27 it expects the EU to build 20GW of new wind every year on average.
The group also noted that investments in new wind farms and new wind turbine orders were down in 2022.
WindEurope claimed this was due to unhelpful government interventions in electricity markets and inflation.
“Governments are beginning to simplify their permitting rules and procedures for new renewables. Germany is leading the way. They’ve doubled their rate of new onshore wind permits compared to three years ago. Their average permitting time has dropped to two years. Others must follow suit. Permitting is still the number one bottleneck for the expansion of wind in Europe,” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.