EUROPEAN WIND INVESTMENT $51 BLN
RENEWABLES NOW - April 13 - Despite the pandemic, Europe saw EUR 42.8 billion (USD 50.9bn) of investments in new wind farms in 2020, the second highest on record after 2016 and about 75% more than in 2019, a report by WindEurope showed today.
The investments financed 19.6 GW of capacity that will be constructed in the coming years. Around 13 GW of this will be in the EU.
Of the total investment, a record EUR 26.3 billion was for offshore wind projects that will deliver 7.1 GW of capacity, also a record figure. The offshore wind investments last year were pushed up by big projects such as Dogger Bank in the UK and Hollandse Kust Zuid in the Netherlands.
Investments in new onshore wind farms amounted to EUR 16.5 billion, the lowest since 2017, covering 12.5 GW of new onshore capacity.
WindEurope said that this level of investment is still not enough to meet Europe's climate and energy targets. According to the trade body, the EU will need to install 27 GW of wind capacity a year to reach its new 55% emissions reduction goal for 2030. While the money is there, the main hurdle is the slow permitting process, the organisation said, and called on governments to simplify permitting rules and increase staffing at the permitting authorities.
The country with the highest investment in new wind was the UK with EUR 13.5 billion. It was followed by the Netherlands with EUR 7.9 billion, France with EUR 6.5 billion and Germany with 4.3 billion. Next came Turkey and Poland, both with EUR 1.6 billion of investments.
WindEurope also noted that corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) play an increasing role in supporting the financing of wind farms. Last year there were 24 new wind PPAs covering more than 2 GW of capacity.
The debt-to-equity ratios for wind farms remain at between 70-90% debt and 10-30% equity, with bank finance becoming increasingly project-specific, especially for offshore wind projects.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.190)
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