2023 was a record year for wind installations as world ramps up clean energy, report says

The world put in 117 gigawatts of latest wind energy capability in 2023, a 50% improve from the 12 months earlier than, making it the very best 12 months for brand spanking new wind tasks on document, in keeping with a brand new report by the trade’s commerce affiliation.

The newest Global Wind Report, revealed Tuesday by the Global Wind Energy Council, explores the state of the worldwide wind trade and the challenges it’s dealing with in its enlargement.

The improve in wind installations “shows that the world is moving in the right direction in combating climate change,” the report stated.

But the authors warned that the wind trade should improve its annual progress to at the very least 320 gigawatts by 2030 with a view to meet the COP28 pledge to triple the world’s put in renewable vitality era capability by 2030, in addition to to fulfill the Paris Agreement’s ambition of capping international warming to 1.5 levels Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).

“It’s great to see wind industry growth picking up, and we are proud of reaching a new annual record,” stated GWEC CEO Ben Backwell, “however much more needs to be done to unlock growth.”

Still, the report exhibits that wind is changing into “better understood and appreciated across the globe for the value it brings as a renewable energy source,” stated George Aluru, CEO of the Electricity Sector Association of Kenya, an trade physique for personal traders in electrical energy.

“This increased renewable energy supply supports climate goals in line with ensuring sustainable development,” he stated.

With the rising impacts of local weather change, wind energy and different renewable vitality sources are seen as a key to lowering electrical energy era from fossil fuels and mitigating local weather change. Renewables are the most affordable type of electrical energy in lots of components of the world and among the many most cost-effective in most others.

The international cumulative wind energy capability now totals 1,021 gigawatts.

Christian Andresen, analysis supervisor at SINTEF Energy Research, a Norway-based impartial institute for utilized analysis within the vitality sector, stated the report exhibits that the wind trade is “picking up pace” by attracting investments and gaining maturity, and that will result in a snowball impact resulting in future progress.

For the planet, he stated, it signifies that it’s doable to ramp as much as attain local weather targets.

“This is an important building block in the transition towards a net-zero emission society,” stated Andresen.

As was the case in 2022, China led all different international locations for each new onshore and offshore wind energy installations in 2023. It had 65% of latest installations, and was adopted by the U.S., Brazil and Germany, respectively. Together, these 4 international locations accounted for 77% of latest installations globally final 12 months.

The report notes that progress in wind energy installations is extremely concentrated in a number of huge international locations and hyperlinks that to sturdy market frameworks to scale wind installations in these international locations. The high 5 markets on the finish of final 12 months remained as China, the U.S., Germany, India and Spain.

Still, another international locations and areas are developing, having witnessed document ranges of progress in 2023.

Africa and the Middle East put in almost 1 gigawatt of wind energy capability in 2023, nearly triple that of the earlier 12 months. With upcoming tasks in South Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the report predicts that new onshore wind additions for Africa and the Middle East will develop fivefold by 2028 in contrast with 2023.

Some of the markets to observe embrace Kenya, the place windenergy supplies round 17% of electrical energy, the report stated. The nation has the most important wind farm in Africa, the 310-megawatt Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, and the report notes new deliberate large-scale wind tasks within the nation, together with a 1-gigawatt wind park by native energy generator KenGen.

But constructing wind energy installations is pricey and entails excessive up-front investments, and rising and creating international locations face greater value of capital and pay greater mortgage charges to construct out their wind, the report stated.

Wind vitality additionally faces provide chain and grid challenges, and innovation within the electrical energy system is required to combine intermittent wind vitality onto the grid whereas retaining reliability, stated Erin Baker, professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research on the University of Massachusetts. Offshore wind, she stated for instance, has some very specialised gear and manufacturing, and likewise requires experience in finance and business fashions.

But the accelerating progress of wind vitality, as proven within the report, signifies that international locations are creating the provision chains wanted to maintain this progress up, and it’ll “almost certainly” result in reductions in value and enhancements within the know-how as increasingly more is constructed world wide, she stated.

“The recent growth, and nations support for the wind industry, are hopeful signs that the supply chain is being established,” stated Baker.