The European Union could achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050 “at the latest” if ambitious renewable energy targets for 203o are agreed, WWF has said in a new report.

By 2030 the EU could be generating more than 40% of its energy from renewable sources, said the report, Re-energising Europe: Putting the EU on Track for 100% Renewable Energy.

Based on research by Ecofys, the report provides policy makers dealing with the continued economic crisis a strong reminder that investing in wind power and other renewables while also agreeing to binding targets until 2030 makes good fiscal and environmental sense.

“Europe has significant untapped potential for cutting energy use and maximising indigenous power sources that could deliver cheaper and more secure energy,” said the report, which called renewable energy a beacon of hope.

Wind power generated more electricity than nuclear power in China last year and will likely continue to do so in the future, according to a new report by the influential Earth Policy Institute (EPI).

The report, released last Tuesday, added nuclear power generation in China has risen by 10% annually since 2007 but wind power during the same period experienced “explosive growth” of 80% per year.

“China’s overall wind energy resource is staggering,” the report said. “Harvard researchers estimate that China’s wind generation potential is 12 times larger than its 2010 electricity consumption.”

UK P.M David Cameron

Wind turbines and other green technologies should be promoted as one way of dealing with climate change, British Prime Minister David Cameron said this week during a trip to India to encourage increased business ties with the UK.

“All over the world governments are not doing enough,” Cameron was quoted in the Guardian as saying. “We are not on track to deal with climate change and make sure our policies are sustainable.”

The newspaper also said Cameron told an audience in Mumbai that emissions-free green technologies like wind power are economic growth items.

The Guardian story added that Bloomberg New Energy Finance recently noted that India “now leads the world in clean tech investment growth, racking up $10.3 bn in the sector in 2011.”

The Australian wind farm sector got a boost of confidence from a Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) analysis that showed electricity produced by the emissions-free generating technology is 14% cheaper than a new coal plant and 18% cheaper than a new gas plant.

“The perception that fossil fuels are cheap and renewables are expensive is now out of date,” Michael Liebreich, chief executive of BNEF, said in a press release. “The fact that wind power is now cheaper than coal and gas in a country with some of the world’s best fossil fuel resources shows that clean energy is a game changer which promises to turn the economics of power systems on its head.”

The BNEF analysis showed electricity can be supplied from a new Australian wind farm for €61/MWh compared to €109/MWh from a new coal plant or €89/MWh from a new gas plant.

People who work in the Spanish wind energy sector will no doubt be sharing great news with those attending next week’s EWEA 2013 Annual Event in Vienna: the nation’s monthly wind-power output exceeded 6 terawatt-hours for the first time in January.

The Spanish Wind Energy Association’s blog, Somos Eolicos, reported that amount of power would be enough to light most households in the nation.

Bloomberg reported that the association — using data from grid operator Red Electrica de Espana — said the milestone was passed Tuesday this week from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time.