Publications

Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Wind Country Notes

Hungary
The Hungarian wind resource data are only partly known, since measurements were only taken at a height of 30-50 m. The average potential in the central area of the country (Alföld) is around 70 W/m² and in the northwest, around 160/180 W/m².

Historically there has been little development of wind power in the country but the preferential feed-in tariff (23.8 Ft/kWh) encourages investors. However, as the market is small and the components necessarily imported, the costs of wind energy are high. Furthermore, the national grid has certain limitations on wind power (2005: 200 MW, 2010: 300 MW, 2015: 800 MW) and would need expansion prior to a high growth in grid-connected turbines. Also, the most economic utilisation for wind power in Hungary is for the technology to be combined with pumped-storage hydro plants but it has been found that this solution would need financial assistance from the European Union. It is for all these reasons that to date, energy production from biomass, rather than wind, has been favoured.

Nevertheless, by March 2006 the Hungarian Energy Office had granted licences for 330 MW. Originally, applications for more than this capacity had been received but many were cut back owing to the constraints of the grid.