Europe saw €19 billion of new wind farm investments confirmed in 2019, according to WindEurope’s annual “Financing and Investment Trends” report. A further €33 billion were invested in the refinancing of wind farms, the acquisitions of wind farm projects and other transactions.
Most of the investments in new wind farms were in onshore wind - €13 billion. This covered over 10 GW of new projects. Spain financed the most wind energy projects in 2019 both in terms of capacity financed and amount invested, €2.8 billion. The next highest investors in onshore wind among EU member states were Sweden and Poland.
The report also takes a closer look at the diverse investors involved in wind energy financing. Banks play an increasing role extending over €20 billion of non-recourse debt in 2019. The importance of non-recourse debt continues to grow. It now accounts for 49% of all investment in new onshore wind projects and 77% of all investment in new offshore wind farms.
The Sustainable Europe Investment Plan, the investment pillar of the European Green Deal, aims to mobilize at least €1 trillion in additional private and public capital for renewable energy projects in the next decade. However, the short-term perspective is overshadowed by the effects of COVID-19. The pandemic is likely to reduce market liquidity in debt and equity markets.