Wind power cracks the 1 million MW mark worldwide

April 19, 2024

Source: Energy & Management Powernews

Wind energy is recording unprecedented growth rates worldwide and the forecasts are good. But they are not yet good enough.

The authors of the Global Wind Report 2024, which has now been presented by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), describe this as the most successful year to date for the wind industry.

According to the report, global wind energy capacity additions doubled to a record 117,000 MW in 2023 (always compared to 2022). At the same time, the portfolio exceeded 1 million MW for the first time and increased by 13 percent.

Onshore, 106,000 MW were connected to the grid, an increase of 54 percent and also a record figure. In a country comparison, China and the USA remain the world's largest markets for new installations, followed by Brazil, Germany and India. These five largest markets alone were responsible for 82% of global new installations. China leads by a wide margin: 69,000 MW were installed there, compared to just 6,400 MW in the USA - the lowest figure since 2014.

The keypoints of the Global Wind Report 2024
Source: GWEC

Offshore global installed capacity increased by 10,800 MW to 75,200 MW. This was 24% higher than in 2022, with China also leading the way here with 6,300 MW. China therefore has a wind power capacity of 38,000 MW at sea. That is 3,700 (11 percent) more than the whole of Europe.

According to the authors of the study, Europe had a record year with 3,800 MW and now has 34,000 MW, 43 percent of which is in the UK and 24 percent in Germany.

In the USA, two large projects were under construction in 2023 with "Vineyard Wind 1" and "South Fork Wind", but these statistics only include completed wind farms.

Almost 800,000 MW to be added in the next five years

In view of the accelerated pace of expansion on land and at sea, the GWEC is confident: assuming a political tailwind, 791,000 MW could be added onshore and offshore in the next five years, according to the authors. This corresponds to an annual expansion of 158,000 MW by 2028 - and therefore significantly more than in the record year of 2023.

The analysts' optimism is based on five factors:

- In the wake of the war in Ukraine, Europe has increased its efforts to secure its energy supply.

- With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the USA has launched the world's largest climate protection investment program to date, promoting not only the expansion of renewables between 2022 and 2032, but also the development and expansion of local supply chains, jobs and overall social progress

- Clean energy has become the main driver of China's economic growth. Beijing's goal is to have more than 80 percent non-fossil energy sources in the overall energy mix by 2060.

- Governments and developers have committed to expanding offshore wind energy. Floating (floating wind power) and Power-to-X will open up further potential at sea

The GWEC expects an addition of onshore wind power capacities of 130,000 MW per year, with a total of +653,000 MW by 2028. China, Europe and the USA are likely to remain the "backbone of global onshore wind power development" for the next five years, accounting for more than 80 percent of the expansion.

The report expects an increase of 138,000 MW for offshore wind by 2028. According to the analysts, the annual expansion rates could triple, with China and Europe continuing to dominate the market for the time being. However, this will only continue until 2026, when the USA and the developing markets in the Asia-Pacific region gain market share. In 2028, the annual expansion outside of China and Europe could account for more than 20% globally.

More than 2 million MW in 2029

The GWEC is also optimistic for the period after 2028: compared to the forecast published in 2023, the association has increased its forecast for total new construction from 2024 to 2030 by 107,000 MW. This means that the 2 million MW mark could be exceeded in 2029.

However, the analysts note that even this growth rate is not sufficient to achieve the Paris climate targets. The IEA's net-zero target by 2050 cannot be achieved in this way either.

The areas of approvals, supply chains, financing and grids remain the key to achieving or even exceeding the forecast growth targets in order to achieve the net-zero emissions target after all.

The complete Global Wind Report 2024 is available free of charge on the GWEC website. According to its own information, the GWEC is an interest group with members from more than 1,500 companies, organizations and institutions in more than 80 countries.

Author: Katia Meyer-Tien