The global wind industry installed 117 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in 2023, making it the best year ever for new wind energy – here’s what happened and where.
The Global Wind Report 2024, newly released by the Global Wind Energy Council representing the entire wind energy sector, found that the 117 GW of installations in 2023 represent a 50% year-over-year increase from 2022. Annual wind installations increased in all regions except Europe and North America.
Further, the year saw 54 countries representing all continents build new wind power. The top 5 markets for new wind installations are China, US, Brazil, Germany, and India.
China set a new record with 75 GW of new installations commissioned, which makes up nearly 65% of the global total. That underpinned a record year for the Asia-Pacific region, which saw year-over-year growth of 106%.
Brazil installed 4.8 GW of wind in 2023, putting the country in third place globally. As a result, Latin America also saw record year-over-year growth of 21%.
Wind installations in Africa & Middle East increased in 2023 by 182% compared with 2022.
Global cumulative wind power capacity passed the first 1 terawatt (TW) milestone in 2023, and now totals 1,021 GW, following year-over-year growth of 13%.
Onshore wind had the best year on record in 2023, surpassing 100 GW in a single year with 106 GW, or a year-over-year growth of 54%. Offshore wind had its second-best year on record with 10.8 GW total installed.
The Global Wind Energy Council announced that it’s revised its 2024-2030 growth forecast (1210 GW) upwards by 10%, in response to the wind industry “entering a new era of accelerated growth driven by increased political ambition.”
Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, said:
It’s great to see wind industry growth picking up, and we are proud of reaching a new annual record. However, much more needs to be done to unlock growth by policymakers, industry, and other stakeholders to get on to the 3X pathway needed to reach net zero.
Growth is highly concentrated in a few big countries like China, the US, Brazil, and Germany, and we need many more countries to remove barriers and improve market frameworks to scale up wind installations.
Read more: The US now has an actual plan to connect clean energy to the grid
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