Europe Electricity Generation Tracker: Wind Energy in Focus

(12 January 2022) To meet its goal of net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Europe increasingly relies on wind energy. According to data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), in 2020 and 2021 wind energy generation accounted for an average of 16.3% of Europe's total electricity generation.

Though wind energy helps to reduce GHG emissions, the supply of wind energy available depends heavily on wind speed. And in the event of unfavorable weather conditions, the loss in wind energy supply has to be compensated for by an increase in electricity generated by burning natural gas and coal, which pushes up market prices for these fossil fuels. (The reverse is also true: ideal wind generation conditions lead to decreased fossil fuel power generation, pushing natural gas and coal prices down.)

Since wind energy generation has become an important leading indicator for European coal and natural gas market movements, Knoema has employed ENTSO-E data to create a daily electricity generation tracker for European countries.

• On the basis of the ENTSO-E data*, Knoema estimates that in the first 10 days of January 2022, wind energy generation in Europe was 3.5 times higher than in the same period a year ago. The average daily share of wind energy generation in Europe's total energy generation increased to 28.8%, compared to only 8.9% a year ago. 
• The increase in wind energy generation may help to stabilize coal and natural gas prices in Europe.

This dashboard also includes total daily electricity generation for Europe and for individual countries in the region. When adjusted for working days and temperature, daily electricity generation can be used as leading indicator of economic activity.

*Sample includes 28 European countries for which ENTSO-E provides data since at least January 1, 2021.