European Wind Industry Sets New Record Inching Toward Meeting 25% Of Demand

The European wind energy industry broke a new record last Saturday, the 28th of October, with almost a quarter of the European Union’s electricity demand met by wind energy for the first time.

WindEurope, the European wind energy trade body, published the record-breaking news on Tuesday, revealing that 24.6% of the European Union’s (EU) electricity demand was powered by wind on Saturday the 28th of October, the highest percentage yet recorded and eclipsing the previous record of 19.9% set earlier in the month on the 7th.

Unsurprisingly the demand was met primarily with onshore wind, which accounted for 21.8%, while offshore wind energy represented 2.8%.

The percentage of demand met also varied depending on which EU country we focus on — Denmark saw 109% of its electricity met by wind, while Germany had 61% of its demand met by wind.

WindEurope analysts also noticed records in hourly wind energy production, with Europe seeing 89.9 GW (gigawatts) produced, Germany 31.9 GW, Poland 5.1 GW, and Norway with 0.9 GW.

For those interested in keeping up with Europe’s wind energy statistics, WindEurope publishes Daily Wind Power Numbers which provide a running tally of wind energy’s role in the European energy mix.