New generation capacity in the EU: wind in number one

clipped from www.leonardo-energy.org Trend change or coincidence? In 2008, wind energy was the preferred technology for new generation capacity in the EU. According to the Planet 2025 NewsNetwork, 43% of all the new power capacity commissioned in the EU last year was wind power. This compares to 35% for natural gas, 13% for oil, 4% for coal, and 2% hydroelectric power. After years of natural gas dominance, this sounds like a real trend change. Has the era of renewable energy begun? That may be, but nevertheless, a few observations are in order. Firstly, one has to wonder whether this surge in wind power construction is caused by a particularly weak year for conventional power plants % of the EU’s electricity demands.