Denmark leads wind power ranking in Europe

Denmark has some cool green data to brag about during the COP15 summit which it is hosting in December. The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has published a table revealing which European countries are best tapping into wind power in order to reduce carbon emissions. Denmark is topping the league with 73.8 MW per KM2, according to late 2008 measurements.

Compare that to France’s 6.2MW and you get an idea as to how far ahead the Danes are when it comes to wind power. Denmark is followed by Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Ireland while Romania, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus appear at the bottom of the league with next to zero wind power generation per km2.

EWEA argues that if the eight largest European countries (Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, UK and Poland) had the same density of wind power capacity per km2 as Denmark, they would produce enough wind power to meet 19% of total EU-27 electricity demand. Besides, that would avoid 362 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, or more than 30% of the EU’s 2020 climate target.

Popular support may well be one of the reasons Denmark is racing ahead with wind power. An independent market research carried out this year found that 91% of Danes support the further development of wind power in their country.

“Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands are European leaders in fighting climate change with wind-powered electricity” said Christian Kjaer, Chief Executive of EWEA. ¬”The figures released also reveal the huge potential for wind power growth in most countries. Laggards in wind energy – including France, the UK, Sweden, Finland and Eastern European countries – can easily play catch-up.”

To download the full report go here.

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