More Wind Power Capacity Installed Last Year in the EU Than any Other Power Technology

Brussels (ots/PRNewswire) - More new wind power capacity was
installed in the EU in 2009 than any other electricity-generating
technology, new statistics published today by the European Wind
Energy Association (EWEA) reveal. 39% of all new capacity installed
in 2009 was wind power, followed by gas (26%) and solar photovoltaics
(16%). Europe decommissioned more coal and nuclear capacity than it
installed in 2009. Taken together, renewable energy technologies
account for 61% of new power generating capacity in 2009.

Investment in new European wind farms in 2009 reached EUR13
billion, including EUR1.5 billion offshore. 10,163 MW of wind power
capacity was installed across the European Union - a 23% increase
compared to 2008 installations - made up of 9,581 MW onshore (up 21%
from last year) and 582 MW offshore (up 56% from last year).

2009 is the second year running that more wind power capacity has
been installed than any other electricity-generating technology, and
wind's share of newly installed capacity increased from 35% in 2008
to 39% in 2009. It is also the second year running that renewable
energies have accounted for the majority of new investments.

"It is a remarkable result in a difficult year" said Christian
Kjaer, CEO of EWEA. "The figures, once again, confirm that wind
power, together with other renewable energy technologies and a shift
from coal to gas, are delivering massive European carbon reductions,
while creating much needed economic activity and new jobs for
Europe's citizens."

The countries with the biggest share of new capacity installed in
2009 were Spain (24% - 2459 MW), followed by Germany (19% - 1917 MW),
Italy (11% - 1114 MW), France (11% - 1088 MW) and the UK (10% - 1077
MW).

Wind power's total capacity in the European Union has now reached
74,767 MW, up from 64,719 MW by the end of 2008 with Germany
remaining the EU country with the largest installed capacity,
followed by Spain, Italy, France and the UK.

The wind capacity installed by the end of 2009 will in a normal
year produce 163 TWh of electricity, meeting 4.8% of total EU power
demand[1].

Commenting on prospects for 2010, Kjaer added: "I am quite
optimistic about the medium-term outlook for wind power in Europe,
but project finance is still tight and it is clear that more orders
must be announced in the coming months for the sector to repeat the
10 GW installed this year."

Please click here to download the pdf with the full analysis of
the data.

http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/emag/statistics/2009generalstats

Note to Editors:

EWEA is the voice of the wind industry, actively promoting the
utilisation of wind power in Europe and worldwide. It now has over
600 members from almost 60 countries including manufacturers with a
90% share of the world wind power market, plus component suppliers,
research institutes, national wind and renewables associations,
developers, electricity providers, finance and insurance companies
and consultants.

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[1] According to the latest figure from Eurostat, final
electricity consumption in the EU-27 was 3,372 TWh in 2007.

ots Originaltext: EWEA - European wind Energy Association
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
CONTACT: For more information contact: Paolo Berrino,
EWEA,paolo.berrino@ewea.org, +32-2-400-10-55