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The latest Global Wind Report, released by the Global Wind Energy Council revealed that the worldwide newly installed wind power capacity was 117 gigawatts in 2023. This is an increase of 50% from the year before, making it the best year for new wind projects on record
The latest Global Wind Report, released by the Global Wind Energy Council revealed that the worldwide newly installed wind power capacity was 117 gigawatts in 2023. This is an increase of 50% from the year before, making it the best year for new wind projects on record. The global cumulative wind power capacity now totals 1,021 gigawatts.
The report warned that the wind industry must increase its annual growth to at least 320 gigawatts by 2030 to meet the COP28 pledge to triple the world’s installed renewable energy generation capacity by 2030. The Paris Agreement has set capping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).
The increase in wind installations shows that the world is moving in the right direction in combating climate change, according to the report. The report shows that wind is becoming better understood and appreciated across the globe for the value it brings as a renewable energy source. With the growing impacts of climate change, wind power, and other renewable energy sources are seen as a key to reducing electricity generation from fossil fuels and mitigating climate change. Renewables are the cheapest form of electricity in many parts of the world and among the cheapest in most others.
Africa and the Middle East installed nearly 1 gigawatt of wind power capacity in 2023, almost triple that of the previous year. With upcoming projects in South Africa, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, the report predicts that new onshore wind additions for Africa and the Middle East will grow fivefold by 2028 compared with 2023.
Some of the markets to watch include Kenya, where wind power provides around 17% of electricity, the report said. The country has the largest wind farm in Africa, the 310-megawatt Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, and the report notes new planned large-scale wind projects in the country, including a 1-gigawatt wind park by local power generator KenGen.
In tandem with its performance in 2022, China led all other countries for both new onshore and offshore wind power installations in 2023. It had 65% of new installations and was followed by the U.S., Brazil, and Germany, respectively. Together, these four countries accounted for 77% of new installations globally last year.
The report notes that growth in wind power installations is highly concentrated in a few big countries and links that to strong market frameworks to scale wind installations in those countries. The top five markets at the end of last year remained China, the U.S., Germany, India, and Spain. Still, some other countries and regions are coming up, having witnessed record levels of growth in 2023.
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Building wind power installations is expensive and entails high up-front investments and emerging and developing countries face higher costs of capital and pay higher loan rates to build out their wind.
