Global Wind Energy Council presents its Annual Wind Balance 2017

Global Wind Energy Council presents its Annual Wind Balance 2017

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  • Date Thursday, 22 February 2018

Wind energy keeps its promise and provides more and more CO2-free electricity to the world.

This week the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) published its statistics and highlights.

Specifically, 52,573 MW of wind power was added last year, with Europe, India and the offshore wind sector having record years.

Currently, according to GWEC data, there are already 539.581MW wind energy accumulated worldwide, a situation we couldn't imagine a couple of decades ago.

Wind energy keeps its promise and provides more and more CO2-free electricity to the world.

“The numbers show a maturing industry, in transition to a market-based system, competing successfully with heavily subsidized incumbent technologies”, said Steve Sawyer, GWEC General Secretary. However, “the transition to fully commercial market-based operation has left policy gaps in some countries, and the global 2017 numbers reflect that, as will installations in 2018”, Sawyer points out.

Regardless, the general secretary of GWEC has no doubts that “Wind is the most competitively priced technology in many if not most markets; and the emergence of wind/solar hybrids, more sophisticated grid management and increasingly affordable storage begin to paint a picture of what a fully commercial fossil-free power sector will look like".

The GWEC report stresses that markets in such diverse locations as Morocco, India, Mexico and Canada range in the area of $US 0.03/kWh, with a recent Mexican tender coming in with prices below $US 0.02.

Meanwhile, offshore wind had its first “subsidy-free” tender in Germany this year, with tenders for more than 1 GW of new offshore capacity receiving no more than the wholesale price of electricity.

In Asia, China continues to lead, with 19,500 MW added in 2017 (slightly less than in 2016). India had also a very good year. Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam remain promising markets, and there are stirrings in the laggard markets in Japan, and particularly in South Korea as a result of policies being enacted by the new government.

The report states that 2017 was the best year for Europe, led by Germany, which added more than 6,000 MW, a very good performance in the UK and a resurgence in the French market.

Finland, Belgium, Ireland and Croatia also set new records. The Council also considers that the installation in European seas of more than 3,000 MW are a harbinger of things to come.

The United States had another strong year, with 7,1 GW added and good prospects for the next few years. The direct purchase of clean electricity by large local companies is playing an increasingly important role in that market, as the number of corporations (Google, Apple, Nike, Facebook, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, etc.) signing contracts for wind and solar energy continues to grow in US.

Regarding Canada and Mexico, GWEC explains that although 2017 was modest in terms of installations, Alberta's new government is giving breathing life into the Canadian market, and in Mexico, the solid policy foundation will make it a substantial growth market for the next decade.

In South America, Brazil has accumulated more than 2 GW, despite the political and economic crises, while Uruguay is meeting its targets and is approaching 100% renewable energy in the power sector. As for Argentina, the results of 2016 and 2017´s auctions will start to result in a large number of installations in 2018 and beyond.

In Africa and the Middle East, wind sector was also quite active last year, although the only completed projects were in South Africa, where 621 MW of new capacity was added to the grid. In Kenya and Morocco, there are important projects that are awaiting grid connection this year.

The Pacific region remains quiet and although in 2017 many new contracts were signed, Australia, the only active market in the region, put up 245 MW.

Energy transition gathers momentum, as Steve Sawyer states: “The numbers show a maturing industry, in transition to a market-based system, competing successfully with heavily subsidized incumbent technologies”.

Download full GWEC report here