GWEC: 2014 to Blow Better Winds

Global wind power capacity has reached a total of 318,137 MW, Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) informed in its market statistics released today. 

Even though this marks an increase of nearly 200,000 MW in the past five years, the annual market dropped by almost 10 GW to 35,467 MW. According to GWEC, this is a result of “the precipitous drop in US installations due to the policy gap created by the US Congress in 2012”.

Cumulative growth in 2013 amounted to 12.5%, but this year and beyond is expected to be much more productive for the wind industry.

“China is a growth market again, which is good news for the industry. The government’s commitment to wind power has been reinforced once again by raising the official target for 2020 to 200 GW, and the industry has responded,” said GWEC Secretary General Steve Sawyer.

“Non-OECD markets are pretty healthy on the whole, and there is a steady stream of new markets emerging in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. With the US apparently back on track, at least for the next two years, the main challenge is stabilising the European markets, both onshore and offshore, which have been rocked by political dithering over the past few years,” Mr. Sawyer said.

GWEC announced that it will issue an annual 5-year forecast (2014-2018) will be issued in April.

Press release, February 5, 2014; Image: Xodus