Wind power is currently the cheapest source of large-scale renewable energy. It involves generating electricity from the naturally occurring power of the wind.
In a TriplePundit article published yesterday; Wind Energy is Top-Dog in the EU … But Will It Last? It refers to a report by the European Wind Energy Association and discusses whether or not it will remain top of the league board.
The article states, it’s a good time for wind energy, particularly in the European Union. The EU added more new wind-energy capacity than any other form of power last year, according to the EWEA report.
In the 28 EU member countries, wind accounted for 44 percent of all new power installations and connected 12.8 gigawatts to the grid, with nearly 10 GW in onshore wind and 3 GW in offshore wind. This amounted to a 6.3 percent increase in wind installations over 2014. Total wind capacity in the EU is now 142 GW and accounts for 11.4 percent of power needs.
Oliver Joy, spokesperson for the European Wind Energy Association, told TriplePundit wind power is no longer an alternative energy source. “Last year, Europe added more new wind capacity than coal, gas and nuclear. We no longer think of wind power as an alternative technology,” “It is mainstream and mature – not to mention onshore wind is the cheapest form of new power generation available to us. An energy transition is underway in Europe and wind power is at its heart.”
The more wind energy installed means less fossil fuel-based power — and that means reduced greenhouse gas emissions.