New EU wind farms held back by procedure EurActiv

23.04.10

It takes an average of three-and-a-half years to win consent to build a wind farm in the EU, an EU funded project coordinated by EWEA has found.

But there are huge differences between countries from eight months in Finland to over 58 months in Portugal, the initial results show. Wind countries such as the UK, Italy and Belgium offer a relatively swift permitting process, while Spain, Portugal and Greece require the most patience from developers.

Experts point out that considering the significant delays, developers will have to plan well ahead to be ready to meet the EU’s target of sourcing 20% of its energy demand from renewables. If it takes over 3 years to get a building consent, developers would have to hand in their applications as early as 2015 in order to have enough turbines up to achieve the 2020 goals.

"If Europe is serious about reaching 20% renewables by 2020 some member states need to streamline their consent procedures for wind farms," said Justin Wilkes, EWEA Policy Director. He added that the ongoing implementation of the EU's renewable energy directive provides an opportunity for targeted action in certain countries.

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