---
title: "Wind Power Set a New Renewable Energy Record in Europe Last Week"
description: "Thanks to a powerful storm that passed over Europe last week, wind energy provided nearly 25 percent of the EU's power, setting a new wind power record."
date: "2017-11-01"
modified: "2017-11-01"
authors:
  - name: "Claudia Geib"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/claudia.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/wind-power-set-a-new-renewable-energy-record-in-europe-last-week"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Renewable Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Wind"
tags:
  - "europe"
  - "renewable energy"
  - "wind energy"
---

# Wind Power Set a New Renewable Energy Record in Europe Last Week

![wind energy europe renewable energy](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/sunset-2469106_1920.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://pixabay.com/en/sunset-sunrise-sun-water-afterglow-2469106/" target="\_blank"\>Getty Images\</a\>\</em\>*

On October 28, wind power sources from 28 countries in the European Union (EU) set a new record: they provided 24.6% of total electricity — enough to power 197 million European households.

Though the spike in power was likely due to the powerful storm that [passed over Europe that weekend](<http://www.dw.com/en/germany-recovers-from-deadly-storm-herwart/a-41189907>), with 153.7 Gigawatts (GW) of wind power capacity installed in the EU (including the largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Kent), the region is on its way to becoming a major force for renewable energy.

In 2009, the European Council adopted an energy and climate target to reduce the EU-wide emissions of greenhouse gases to [80 percent below 1990](<https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2050_en>) levels by 2050. This target includes a directive to fulfill[ at least 20 percent of its energy needs](<https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy>) with renewables by 2020.

As a result, offshore wind energy is [now cheaper than nuclear energy](<https://futurism.com/offshore-wind-energy-in-the-uk-is-now-cheaper-than-nuclear-power-for-the-first-time.md>) in the UK, and countries across Europe receive significant portions of energy from wind. Denmark regularly gets [more than 100 percent](<https://futurism.com/denmark-just-ran-their-entire-country-on-100-wind-energy.md>) of its energy from wind (and hit 109% last weekend), while wind frequently provides [Germany more than half](<https://futurism.com/germany-just-smashed-an-energy-record-generating-85-electricity-from-renewables.md>) of its electricity. Additionally, Scotland recently made news in opening [the first floating wind farm](<https://futurism.com/the-worlds-first-floating-wind-farm-just-opened.md>), which should provide power to 10,000 homes.

Additionally, with new wind farms being constructed offshore, these high records are likely just the beginning of a new norm for European energy. Denmark's Ørsted Energy is currently working on the world's largest offshore wind farm for the UK, which will have the capacity of 1200 Megawatts (MW) when it opens in 2020—and they're under contract to build what will become the next largest offshore wind farm, also in the UK, with a planned capacity of 1386 MW when it opens in 2022.

## Author
Claudia is a science writer and editor based in Boston, Massachusetts. She's a science omnivore with a particular appetite for marine science and the environment.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/cm_geib>)

## More

- [Renewables Accounted for 90% of Europe’s New Power Last Year](<https://futurism.com/renewables-accounted-for-90-of-europes-new-power-last-year.md>)
- [Britain’s New Offshore Wind Farm Is Set to Be the World’s Largest](<https://futurism.com/britain-set-to-build-the-660-megawatt-walney-extension-the-worlds-largest-offshore-wind-farm.md>)
- [Denmark Just Ran Their Entire Country on 100% Wind Energy](<https://futurism.com/denmark-just-ran-their-entire-country-on-100-wind-energy.md>)
- [Artificial Island Hub Will Collect Wind Energy and Divert it to Shore](<https://futurism.com/wind-farm-island-hub-netherlands-uk.md>)
- [The UK Will Soon Be Home to the World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm](<https://futurism.com/uk-soon-home-worlds-largest-offshore-wind-farm.md>)
- [30% of Europe’s Electricity Could Be Wind Powered by 2020](<https://futurism.com/30-europes-electricity-wind-powered-2020.md>)
- [Wind Farms Accused of Stealing Each Others’ Wind](<https://futurism.com/wind-farms-stealing.md>)
- [A $10 Billion Renewable Energy Startup Just Unveiled Their Largest Onshore Wind Turbine](<https://futurism.com/a-10-billion-renewable-energy-startup-just-unveiled-their-largest-onshore-wind-turbine.md>)