According to a report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), although wind power experienced remarkable growth in 2020, the world still needs to develop wind power three times faster over the next decade to achieve global climate targets.

The global wind industry installed a record 93 GW of new capacity in 2020, up 53% year-on-year, demonstrating strong resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Total global wind power capacity reached 743 GW, helping the world avoid more than 1.1 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually – equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of South America.

However, the world needs to install at least 180 GW of new wind power capacity every year to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This means that the industry and policymakers need to act swiftly to accelerate deployment.

Wind energy is a cornerstone of Net Zero, supporting a green recovery as a resilient and cost-competitive energy source with significant potential for decarbonization per megawatt of installed capacity.

GWEC Report

According to the Global Wind Report 2021, the world needs to triple the pace of wind power development over the next decade to stay on track toward the Net Zero target and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Through technological innovation and economies of scale, the global wind market has nearly quadrupled in size over the past decade, establishing itself as one of the world’s most resilient and cost-competitive energy sources. In 2020, record growth was driven by China and the United States, the world’s two largest wind power markets, which together accounted for 75% of new wind power installations in 2020 and more than half of the world’s total installed wind capacity.

Today, global wind power capacity stands at 743 GW, helping avoid more than 1.1 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions worldwide – equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of South America.

However, as the clean energy technology with the highest decarbonization potential per MW, the report shows that the current pace of wind power deployment will not be sufficient to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century. Policymakers must therefore take urgent action now to scale up wind power deployment at the pace required to meet global climate goal

According to scenarios developed by international energy organizations such as IRENA and the IEA, the world needs to install at least 180 GW of new wind power capacity each year to limit global warming to below 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels. It will need to install as much as 280 GW annually to remain on a pathway consistent with achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This means that the industry and policymakers must work collaboratively and act swiftly to accelerate deployment.

GWEC is calling on policymakers to adopt a “climate emergency” approach to accelerate the transition, including:

• Cut red tape and reform administrative structures to accelerate and streamline permitting for projects.
• Increase investment in grids, ports and other infrastructure needed to enable greater levels of wind power deployment.
• Redesign energy markets to ensure that they reflect the true social costs of fossil-fuel pollution and facilitate a rapid transition toward a renewable energy-based system.

GWEC Forecast

GWEC’s current market outlook forecasts that 469 GW of new wind power capacity will be installed over the next five years. At least 180 GW of new capacity must be installed annually through 2025 to stay on track to limit global warming to below 2°C. At the current pace, this means an average shortfall of 86 GW per year. Installation levels will then need to scale up to 280 GW annually after 2030 to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century. Every year we fall short, the challenge becomes increasingly difficult.

Source: GWEC