Challenging American Taboos: European Wind Industry
By Erika Pietrzak, June 15 , 2025
While wind energy is a hot button issue in the United States, it has become widespread across Europe, and is supported by many Europeans.
Source: Wind Europe
While wind energy is a hot button issue in the United States, it has become widespread across Europe, and is supported by many Europeans. Over the past several years, Russian energy blackmailing and explosions of European energy sites during the last decade resulted in surging gas prices and inflation across the continent. In response to this volatility, many European countries logically turned to investments in diverse energy sources and reducing reliance on fossil fuels to restore economic and grid stability. In 2024, the European Union (EU) spent €400 billion on energy imports, most of which were fossil fuels. Taking the funds that would’ve gone to fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy instead boosts a country's energy security, sovereignty, and competitiveness.
One of the main investments in European energy comes in the form of wind, the use of which avoids 100 billion cubic metres of fossil fuel energy imports annually for the continent, equal to the capacity of 500 large oil tankers. These investments in wind energy are already paying off. The European wind industry contributes €52 billion to the EU’s GDP and employs 370,000 people, which is estimated to increase to 550,000 jobs by 2030. Each wind turbine averages €16 million of economic activity. As a result of these investments, Europe was able to produce more solar and wind energy than energy from fossil fuels in the first half of 2024.
Many more improvements in clean energy are expected to surge across Europe. This commitment to the advancement of wind energy truly took off with the enactment of the European Union (EU) Wind Charter in December 2023. With 15 specific measures that take steps to speed up permitting, improve auction design,better support the supply chain and more, this Charter is a powerful step in improving the European wind industry. All 15 measures have been or are currently being implemented, with a focus on financing and permitting, which bodes well for future wind energy efforts.
Germany added 4 gigawatts (GW) of energy to their grid last year in the form of wind energy, and the amount of wind energy on the country’s grid is expected to grow by 8 GW annually between 2025 and 2030. Permitting improvements have allowed for projects to be approved much more quickly. Similarly, Poland began commercial-scale offshore wind development by completing two projects in the Baltic Sea and recently introduced a bill to reduce the distance required between an offshore turbine and residential areas.
Source: Euro News
The Baltic states are leaders in wind energy in Europe. Over the last three years, wind’s contribution to their energy grid increased from 15 percent to 28 percent, and is expected to increase even further in following years. Estonia expanded its available area for wind farms from 10 percent of the country to over 60 percent. They also invest in radars to minimize distortions from wind farms, an important part of selling wind energy to the United States. The Baltic states have begun to connect their grids between the countries of the region and other nearby states.
Finland has been one of the most successful nations in transitioning to wind energy . Wind energy use in the country nearly doubled between 2024 and early 2025, with a quarter of its energy production coming from wind. After the closure of another coal plant in January, less than one percent of Finland’s energy is supplied by coal– coming to a total 73 percent decrease in coal generation since 2020. Finland’s government says that this has contributed to lower consumer prices for electricity and is on schedule to completely phase out coal before their goal of 2030.
Source: Euro News
European financial investments in wind energy research are leading the world into a more efficient and affordable future. One of the greatest advancements is the ‘motionless’ wind turbine installed on a roof in Oxford, England. Designed by an American company, England was willing to test this new technology, which may reduce noise pollution and dangers to animals, two of the main critiques of wind energy. Working alongside solar energy systems, this motionless turbine maximizes renewable energy production. Scandinavia has improved technologies in a different way by using offshore wind farms to harvest seafood. Longlines are stretched between the turbines, where mussels and seaweed grow, creating a farm above and below the water. European contributions to technological advancements and manufacturing of wind turbine parts places the region as an economic and scientific leader in wind energy, a position that could significantly benefit it if other nations follow renewable alternatives.
The European Union (EU) and the European Commission are both avid supporters of wind energy. Last year, the EU announced it would spend €40bn on six wind energy projects as part of its Innovation Fund. The European Commission launched the Clean Industrial Deal on February 26, which aims to strategically strengthen Europe’s energy grid, including an over €11bn investment in wind energy. In March, Wind Europe, the largest association for wind energy in the continent, followed up on this investment with its launch of the “Wind Works for Europe” video series, updating the public on “key construction sites across Europe to learn all about the ongoing supply chain expansion.” In 2022, the REPowerEU plan pushed for investments in renewable energy that led to record levels of wind capacities since then. The EU also offers a variety of programs that assist with funding wind energy projects. The Connecting Europe Facility, for example, allowed for 41 new cross-border energy infrastructure programs this year.
Source: Euro News
European wind is not perfect, however. Sweden recently turned down a wind farm’s application due to national defense concerns, saying that the wind farm would make it “harder to detect and shoot down missiles.” Recent analysis found that European energy targets were based on outdated data and incorrect assumptions, which has resulted in delayed improvements that have derailed many countries’ energy goals. Recent studies also found that Europe may be getting less wind because of global warming, lessening the impact of these improvements.
Today, 19 percent of Europe’s electricity comes from wind energy, but there is room to grow.. The Renewable Energy Directive states that “at least 42.5% of the EU’s gross final consumption of energy should come from renewable energy sources” by 2030, which will only be met if more wind energy is deployed. The contributions wind energy already gives for Europe’s energy grid are significant and these contributions can grow even larger if improvements continue to be made.
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