How much wind power potential does europe have? Examining european wind power potential with an enhanced socio-technical atlas

The continuous development of onshore wind farms is an important feature of the European transition towards an energy system powered by distributed renewables and low-carbon resources. This study assesses and simulates potential for future onshore wind turbine installations throughout Europe. The study depicts, via maps, all the national and regional socio-technical restrictions and regulations for wind project development using spatial analysis conducted through GIS. The inputs for the analyses were based on an original dataset compiled from satellites and public databases relating to electricity, planning, and other dimensions. Taking into consideration socio-technical constraints, which restricts 54% of the combined land area in Europe, the study reveals a nameplate capacity of 52.5 TW of untapped onshore wind power potential in Europe - equivalent to 1 MW per 16 European citizens – a supply that would be sufficient to cover the global all-sector energy demand from now through to 2050. The study offers a more rigorous, multi-dimensional, and granular atlas of onshore wind energy development that can assist with future energy policy, research, and planning. •Introduces a novel sociotechnical method of estimating wind power potential.•Offers an overview of the wind power potential in each of the European nations.•The European potential nameplate capacity for onshore wind power is 52 TW.•The potential area for onshore wind project development is 4,895,560 km2•54% of the combined European area is restricted for new onshore wind development.