Wind energy remains a key pillar of Europe’s energy security and climate objectives. The Netherlands has ambitious plans to expand its offshore wind capacity, while other European nations continue to scale up their investments in wind power. Across the EU-27, the total installed wind capacity is projected to reach 351 GW by 2030 which still lags behind the set goals despite significant progress.
Netherlands seeks four-fold increase in wind capacity
Despite recent political changes and the formation of a new cabinet, the Netherlands remains unwavering in its commitment to offshore wind energy. The country plans to scale up its offshore wind capacity from the current 4.5 GW to 21 GW by 2032.
Offshore wind continues to be the most cost-effective and scalable electricity source and is central to the Netherlands’ long-term energy strategy. At present, renewable sources already contribute around 56% of the country’s electricity generation, with offshore wind expected to account for 75% of the total power supply by 2032. Looking beyond this milestone, policymakers are aiming for an even more substantial expansion, targeting 72 GW of offshore wind capacity in the North Sea to further accelerate decarbonisation of the energy system.
Jan Vos, Chairman of the board of the Netherlands Wind Energy Association, reaffirmed the country’s direction, stating that despite changes in government, the offshore wind roadmap remains intact:
“This is because we don’t only need to decarbonise our electricity system, we also need to decarbonise the energy system, and this means producing hydrogen and providing clean power for the electrification of the industry. These are things that will come into play after 2032”.
EU gathers momentum
In general, wind energy is playing an increasingly crucial role across Europe. Several nations are now already generating a substantial share of their electricity from wind. Sweden, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, and Spain have already reached milestones of 31%, 30%, 30%, 29%, 28%, 27% and 25% of their electricity demand being met by wind power, respectively. Denmark leads the continent with wind providing 56% of its electricity, followed by Ireland at 33%. Sweden, which has expanded its wind fleet by 6% in both capacity and efficiency, has overtaken Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and Germany to hold the third-highest share of wind energy in Europe.
Germany was the largest contributor to new wind energy installations last year. In 2024, the country added 3.3 GW of onshore wind capacity. This included 644 new wind turbines with an average capacity of 5.1 MW, an increase from 4.8 MW in 2023. However, with 712 MW of older onshore capacity being decommissioned, the net addition stood at 2.6 GW.
Fig.1. Percentage of electricity demand covered by wind, 2024
Source: Wind energy in Europe
Overall, at the European level, in 2024 alone, the continent installed 16.4 GW of new wind power capacity with onshore wind accounting for approximately 84% of the additions. Meanwhile, 2.6 GW of new offshore capacity was successfully connected to the electricity network. At present, Europe has 285 GW of total wind power capacity (231 GW on EU-27 level), with 37 GW being attributed to offshore projects (21 GW on EU-27 level).
Fig.2. New offshore and onshore wind installations, 2024, Europe
Source: Wind energy in Europe
Looking ahead, Europe has committed to further accelerating wind energy expansion. Between 2025 and 2030, the EU-27 aims to install an additional 187 GW of wind power capacity which will require an annual installation rate of 23 GW to reach a total of 140 GW by the end of the decade. By 2030, the total installed wind capacity across Europe and the EU is projected to reach 450 GW and 351 GW, respectively. However, to achieve the EU’s renewable energy target of 42.5% by 2030, wind installations would need to reach 425 GW which indicates a gap still remains.
Fig.3. New wind capacity, 2025 – 2030, Europe and the EU
Source: Wind energy in Europe
