A review of regulatory framework for wind energy in European Union countries: Current state and expected developments

The results presented in this paper show a trend for increasing the market exposure of wind generators; feed-in premiums and competitive bidding procedures to establish the support level are gaining prominence in the last few years. In relation to grid issues, it is a common practice that new wind generators only bear the grid extension costs to the closest connection point; priority or guaranteed access is granted in most Member States and wind generators are usually not demanded to meet balancing requirements (this is expected to change in the next few years following the new guidelines provided by the European Commission). The analysis of potential barriers for wind energy deployment shows that the stability of regulatory framework is one of the most important concerns for investors. Finally, actual deployment over the last few years has been linked with evolution of regulatory frameworks. This analysis shows that some Member States have shown a strong commitment supporting wind energy; however, in other countries the support has not been enough to stimulate the desired level of investment.