Wind energy is 300,000 jobs in Europe and contributes €37bn to EU GDP every year according to WindEurope’s new report: ‘Wind Energy and economic recovery in Europe – How wind energy will put communities at the heart of the European recovery”.
If Governments fully implement their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), Europe will have over twice as much wind energy capacity as today by 2030. And 50% more jobs in wind by 2030 - 450,000. Wind will be 30% of Europe’s electricity consumption, up from 15% today. And it will be contributing €50bn to Europe’s GDP.
But as they stand, the NECPs will struggle to deliver this. They give insufficient visibility on when and how Governments will auction new wind farms. And they fail to simplify the process of getting permits for wind farms. If this doesn’t improve, Europe will not have enough new wind, and will actually lose 20,000 jobs compared to today.
Investing in wind energy will help Europe’s recovery. Each new turbine installed in Europe generates on average €10m of economic activity. This is spread across the 248 factories in Europe that produce turbines and components - and all involved in planning, construction, logistics and R&D.
Wind farms benefit those who live near them. Wind energy pays €5bn in taxes across Europe every year, often directly to deprived rural municipalities. WindEurope’s new report: ‘Wind Energy and economic recovery in Europe – How wind energy will put communities at the heart of the European recovery” portraits 14 examples of how communities can benefit from wind. These include local citizens participating in repowering in the Netherlands, wind farms helping to repair and supply hospitals in Greece, a wind project setting up a COVID-19 emergency fund in the UK and wind energy facilitating just transition processes in Germany.