Europe's wind, solar project pipeline grows to 86 GW by 2027

Europe's announced wind and solar pipeline stands at more than 86 GW for projects entering operation by 2027, S&P Global Commodity Insights data shows, with 22 GW of new capacity set to be completed this year.

The five-year pipeline includes more than 70 GW of wind projects, of which 15.8 GW is set to be commissioned in 2027. That figure is mostly attributed to offshore wind projects in England and Germany, with Sweden's Vattenfall AB responsible for 4.6 GW of incoming capacity, including the 1.8-GW Norfolk Boreas and Norfolk Vanguard wind farms off the coast of England.

Germany's RWE AG also plans to complete the 1-GW Thor wind farm off Denmark's coast during 2027, while growth will also come in Poland's Baltic Sea, where the 1.5-GW Baltica II project is set to be connected by Ørsted A/S and PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA.

Solar accounts for about 15.7 GW of the announced pipeline to 2027, with announcements front-loaded for the next three years and information for 2027 still sparse. Solar projects typically have shorter development timelines compared to wind.

The largest solar projects set to be connected in the coming years are the 1 GW Erasmo plant in Portugal, set to be completed this year, and the 1 GW Horizeo plant in France, which developer Engie SA and partners plan to connect by 2026.

In 2023 alone, 8 GW of new solar capacity is expected to be completed in Europe, according to the data.

Finland, one of Europe's fastest-growing renewables markets, now has 3.6 GW of wind and solar projects in advanced development or under construction.

Germany, Europe's largest destination for onshore wind, has 4.4 GW of onshore and offshore wind projects nearing completion. The largest projects are EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG's 906-MW He Dreiht offshore project, which recently signed a power purchase agreement with chemicals company Evonik Industries AG, and the 927-MW Gennaker offshore wind farm, now owned by Global Infrastructure Management LLC.

Onshore wind projects in advanced development in Germany remain concentrated almost entirely in wind-friendly states in the north and west. Bavaria, in southeast Germany, has softened its so-called 10H rule, which requires a distance 10 times the height of the turbine to the nearest home. For projects with industrial buildings or motorways also nearby, the rule is now only 1,000 meters.

The move came after pressure from the Berlin government, which is trying to accelerate onshore wind development and provide 2% of German land for development.

EU lawmakers have pledged to facilitate the construction of new projects by slashing long permitting processes that developers say hamper the sector's growth. The REPowerEU policy package will also accelerate deployment, with the European Commission targeting 45% renewables in the mix by 2030, up from 40% previously.

In England, which was long hamstrung by a quasi-ban on new onshore wind development, the government under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will greenlight new development. For now, though, the country does not have new wind projects nearing completion, with all new U.K. projects located in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.

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