An incredible 65% of Germany’s electricity needs can be met by onshore wind power alone, according to a new study published by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES) and the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) this week.

The news, which also highlights that this can be achieved with wind power technology currently in use – 3MW wind turbines – has hit headlines far and wide in the German national press.

Hermann Albers, President of the German Wind Energy Association, argues in the Handelsblatt that wind power could create the total amount of electricity needed to phase out nuclear power in Germany.

The UK offshore wind power industry is expected to capture about 10% of the global sector by 2050 and employ up to 230,000 people in Britain, according to a new report released by the Carbon Trust.

Issued last Thursday, the report also found that offshore wind could represent a gross contribution to UK GDP generated by business of up to €11 billion a year, or €113 billion cumulatively between 2010 and 2050.