The European Wind Energy Association has indicated that 180 GW of wind energy will be operating in the EU in 2020 and 300 GW by the end of 2030. Over that period, an increasing share of the installations will be offshore.

In recent years, the amount of wind energy capacity installed in the EU has shot up. Between 2000 and 2007, capacity increased by 339 percent, reaching a total of over 56 MW by the end of the seven-year period (EWEA, 2008) and providing 3.7 percent of EU electricity.

Wind energy employment in the EU will more than double from 154,000 in 2007 to almost 330,000 in 2020. Onshore wind energy will continue to be the largest contributor to employment throughout the period. By 2025, offshore wind energy employment will exceed onshore employment. By 2030, more than 375,000 people will be employed in the European wind energy sector – 160,000 onshore and 215,000 offshore, according to the report, entitled, 'Wind at Work – wind energy and job creation in the EU'.

The EU wind energy sector directly employed approximately 108,600 people in 2007. Including indirect employment, the wind energy sector employs 154,000 in the EU.