Wind Sets New Power Record in Europe

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Wind energy supplied almost a quarter of all of Europe's electricity needs at the weekend for the first time, setting a new record.

Last Saturday, combined offshore and onshore wind supplied 24.6% of the power used by the European Union (EU), according to statistics from industry body WindEurope. It smashed the previous record of 19.9% set on 7 October 2017. Onshore wind contributed the most with 21.8%, with the rapidly growing offshore wind sector supplying 2.8%. Some countries posted very high figures, with wind supplying 109% of Denmark's needs and 61% in Germany. The news comes in the same week that Estonia's courts have removed barriers to the creation of the country's largest offshore wind project near Hiiumaa island in the Baltic Sea.

"The new record can be explained not only by the continued expansion of wind energy in Europe but also to particularly strong northern winds and a major wave of cool polar air mass travelling across central, eastern and southeastern Europe," WindEurope stated.

In Estonia, the planned 1-gigawatt (GW) Hiiumaa offshore wind project received a welcome boost from the Tallinn Circuit Court, which rejected an appeal filed by opponents relating to visual impact and nature conservation. The rejection upholds a positive decision made in favour of the windfarm by the Hiiu county governor from 2015.

This summer, developer Nelja Energia (Tallinn, Estonia) and the Hiiu island municipality signed an agreement to go ahead with the project, which will be Estonia's first offshore windfarm and one of Europe's largest. Nelja has agreed that the windfarm will be located no closer than 12 kilometres from shore and will have a minimal visual impact. Industrial Info is tracking the four 240-megawatt (MW) phases of the project, with the first phase expected to be commissioned in late 2019.

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