Aiming High Rewarding Ambition in Wind Energy - Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With 392 GW installed, wind energy can be the single largest source of power generation in the EU by 2030 ahead of coal and gas.
Wind energy already plays a significant role in the European power sector. In 2014, the wind industry installed 11,791 MW in the EU - more than gas and coal combined. Today wind energy can meet 10.2% of Europe’s electricity demand with a cumulative capacity of 128.8 GW at the end of 2014.
Wind power plants across Europe are operating on a similar scale as traditional thermal power generation, delivering clean, affordable and reliable electricity to European citizens. This deployment has been underpinned by the development of an industrial base making Europe the global leader in wind energy.
The industry has taken strides in cutting technology costs and the finance community sees wind energy as an increasingly valuable asset. Keeping this momentum will be critical to the EU’s standing as the global leader in renewables.
Europe should capitalise on its first-mover advantage in developing wind energy, the most cost-effective climate change mitigation technology.
A global climate deal in Paris in December 2015 is only the beginning of a long endeavour to address our climate change challenge as parties will start implementing their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions. This will open new markets for renewables and other climate change mitigation technologies.
To benefit over the long term from its competitive advantage, Europe will need to showcase a successful energy transition building on the large scale deployment of wind energy.
This report quantifies the impacts of the Central and High Scenarios laid out in EWEA’s Wind Energy Scenarios for 2030.
In the Central Scenario with the EU just meeting its 2030 climate and energy targets, wind energy will fall short of meeting one fourth of EU electricity demand. More importantly, this approach would postpone much of the investments required for the EU to meet its long term greenhouse gas emissions reduction objective.
In contrast, Aiming High and pursuing a more ambitious wind power deployment, will bring significant additional benefits in terms of greenhouse gas emissions savings, energy security and macroeconomic benefits.
In the High Scenario, 53.7% of electricity consumed in Europe will be sourced by renewable energy technologies, with wind accounting for 28.2% of total electricity demand. This scenario will help remove 111.6 Mt CO2 by not postponing climate mitigation actions to the next generation.
This would be a net positive for the EU economy with an additional €13 bn GDP resulting from the increased deployment of wind and other renewables. The transformation of the energy mix will also lead to a net job creation in the European Union with 366,000 direct and indirect jobs in the wind industry alone.
Wind energy’s potential to 2030 and beyond will largely depend on more ambition from policy makers. To this end, a robust governance system should be agreed to ensure Member States collectively deliver on the 2030 binding renewable energy target and are rewarded for additional ambition.
In parallel, the European Commission should make concrete legislative proposals towards a well-functioning energy market driving the transition away from a fossil fuel based economy. Finally, a structural reform of the EU Emissions Trading System should be completed to provide for a high and stable carbon price, dis-incentivising investments in carbon-intensive and inefficient power plants.
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