Global economic activity is on hold at the moment, but 2019 was a boom year for wind energy, with more than 60GW of capacity installed around the world.
New figures from the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) Global Wind Energy Report show that installations were 19% higher than the year before and the second-highest ever. Total capacity is now 651GW. However, the market needs to grow even more if we are to meet our climate targets, the organization says.
China and the US dominate the global market for onshore wind projects, accounting for 60% of sales between them, while the offshore market is now 10% of the overall market, with 6.1GW installed in 2019.Today In: Markets
2020 was expected to be a record year for the industry, with 76GW of new capacity forecast to come on line, but that figure is unlikely to be reached as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. GWEC says that it will revise its 2020-2024 forecast in the light of the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and energy markets, and will publish an updated market outlook in Q2 2020.
The key driver for the sector’s growth was the growth in the use of auctions to procure capacity, which has helped to drive down costs around the world. More than 40GW, or two thirds of new capacity, was procured through auctions, double the figure for 2018.
