In Europe, Wind Power Is Blowing Away The Competition

Image by Alicja/TookAPic.

THE GOOD NEWS:

Wind energy is becoming a crucial way to power the future.

This past October, the European Union had a record-setting day for clean energy. For the first time in the EU’s history, almost 25% of its overall electricity came from the power of wind alone. To put that number into perspective, the combined onshore and offshore wind turbines produced enough electricity to power nearly 200 million European homes or roughly two-thirds of total industrial power needs, Electrek reports. This is significant considering Europe houses about half-a-billion people on nearly as much land as the United States.

Broken down by country, the numbers become even more impressive. According to a chart shared by Wind Europe, Denmark exceeded all its energy needs for the day, meeting 109% of its energy demands with wind power alone. Germany came in second by meeting 61% of its energy needs with wind, while Portugal came in third with 44%. Of the 28 countries that make up the European Union, 10 saw at least a fifth of their energy needs met by wind power on Oct. 28, 2017.

This is a promising sign for Ørsted Energy, the company currently in charge of building what will soon be the largest offshore wind farm in the U.K. Come 2022, the initiative, known as Hornsea Project Two, will generate enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes in the U.K. This growing enthusiasm for wind-generated electricity seems to align with offshore wind’s 32% drop in prices since 2012. As the cost of generating wind power continues to decline and major cities draw more power from similarly sustainable sources, it seems a future of clean energy is just a gust away from full fruition.