Wind power is, however, considered in the action plan as a key technology in increasing renewables penetration, with almost 100MW of new capacity forecast. This would bring cumulative capacity in 2020 to 131MW. Wind is therefore forecast to cover 3.6% of electricity consumption in a scenario where a third of all electricity will come from renewables.
The European Wind Energy Association is more positive about the country’s potential and estimates that 300MW of installed wind capacity could cover up to 14% of electricity consumption, more than the sum of all the renewable electricity technologies in the national plan.
Camille Gira, a Luxembourg MP for the Greens party, agrees that wind could play a much greater role than suggested by the plan. He says that the country needs a territorial plan showing where and how wind farms could be built, adding that, at the moment, there is no criteria for their construction. While this would be a lengthy process, he believes that the time is right to do it now. Moreover, Gira suggests that a focus on small, communal wind parks would provoke less opposition from residents than leaving wind to the private sector.
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