Wind power accounted for 15% of total electricity generation in Europe in 2020. According to a new report from EnAppSys, last year saw the wind energy sector’s highest ever contribution to Europe’s power mix.

A total of 429 terrawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity was generated by wind farms last year, out of a total of 2727TWh across Europe. This is up 4% on 2019.

Renewables delivered 41% of Europe’s power last year. Nuclear accounted for 25% and fossil-fuels made up 33%.

Total clean energy output was 1116TWh, up 8% on 2019’s 1035TWh.

Hydro

Hydro remains the largest renewable generator, contributing 477TWh or 43% of clean energy generation, followed by wind (36%), solar (11%) and biomass (8%). 1% was generated from waste.

Germany generated the most wind energy, with Spain, the UK, France and Sweden also relying on significant volumes from the sector, the EnAppSys report states.

“All segments of the renewable sector except waste saw increases in generation from 2019 levels, with solar and hydro seeing increases of 12% in output” said EnAppSys director Jean-Paul Harreman.

COVID-19

Harreman added that while the 2020 generation mix was broadly in line with previous years, the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on demand levels was noticeable, particularly during the second quarter.

“There have been variations in demand shapes throughout the pandemic since March, partly due to the different strategies adopted by countries to deal with Covid-19” he said.

“In February, Germany and France had similar shapes and levels, while in Q2 and Q3, Germany had significantly higher peaks and lower troughs than France relative to their averages,” Harreman concluded.