The wind industry set a new record for annual installations in 2014, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Globally, 51,473 MW of new wind generating capacity was added representing a 44% increase in the annual market, and is a solid sign of the recovery of the industry after a rough patch in the past few years. Total cumulative installations stand at 369,597 MW at the end of 2014.
China continues to drive global growth, setting a new record in 2014 with 23,196 GW of new wind power, representing 45% of the global market, and dominating the world-leading Asian market’s total installations of 26,007 MW. India’s 2,315 MW was a distant second, although the stage is now set for a new round of market growth in that country.
The European market grew marginally in 2014, with 12,858 MW of new capacity, and just shy of 2012’s record. Germany’s 5,279 MW of new capacity smashed the old record and cemented its position as European market leader, with the UK a distant second at 1,736. Sweden passed the 1,000 MW mark for the first time with 1,050 MW, and France was the last of four European markets surpassing 1 GW with 1,042 MW installed last year.
Africa’s largest wind farm came on line with the commissioning of the 300 MW Tarfaya plant in Morocco, and South Africa’s market made a strong start with 560 MW, pushing African totals to 934 MW.
Brazil’s 2,472 MW in new installations led Latin American installations of 3,749 MW, although Chile (506 MW) and Uruguay (405 MW) also made strong showings. The US market recovered in 2014 from 2013’s nadir with 4,854 MW, Canada (1,871 MW) set a new record and Mexico (634 MW) was solid. Australia’s 567 MW showed that the renewables industry in Australia is not dead, despite the best efforts of the government to kill it.
A webinar jointly organized by GWEC and Renewable Energy World on 21 April 2015 at 3pm CET will present key highlights from GWEC’s fresh out of print Global Wind Report which features insights into the most important wind markets around world, as well as projections out to 2019 along with an overview of the current status of global offshore market. Participants can hear about the up and coming new and emerging wind markets and get their questions answered by Steve Sawyer, CEO of GWEC.