Wind energy added more new capacity than any other form of power in Europe in 2015. Across the 28 EU member states, wind accounted for 44% of all new power installations, connecting a total of 12.8GW to the grid - 9.766MW in onshore and 3,034MW offshore.
The volume of new installations was 6.3% up on 2014. Total wind capacity in Europe now stands at 142GW and covers 11.4% of Europe's electricity needs. Renewables accounted for 77% of new power plant installations in 2015: 22.3GW of a total 29GW. Investment in new onshore and offshore wind farms reached 26.4 billion euros, a 40% increase on 2014, with both onshore and offshore attracting record levels of capital. Almost half the new wind installations in 2015 were in Germany. Poland was the second largest installer with 1.3GW new capacity followed by France with 1GW.
