Global Wind Capacity in 2024 Falls Short Despite Reaching a Record
A record 117 gigawatts of wind power capacity was installed worldwide last year, slightly more than in 2023, but far less than needed to achieve goals to decarbonise energy. Credit: Adobe Stock/Byron Moore
A record 117 gigawatts of wind power capacity was installed worldwide last year, slightly more than in 2023, but far less than needed to achieve goals to decarbonise energy, a report by the Global Wind Energy Council said on Wednesday.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
The world needs to shift to renewable sources, including wind and solar, to contain global warming.
Many organisations, including the GWEC, have said the current rate of progress is not enough. It says a goal of installing 320 GW of capacity per year needs to be met for a United Nations target to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to be achieved.
The GWEC said the uncertainty linked to U.S. tariffs could limit progress. Former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which his successor Donald Trump has criticised, had spurred investment in wind and other green energy.
BY THE NUMBERS
New installed capacity was slightly up from 2023's figure of 116.6 GW, the report showed.
Last year's growth comprised 109 GW of onshore wind and 8 GW of offshore wind capacity, bringing global cumulative capacity of wind power to 1,136 GW.
China installed the most wind in 2024 with 79.8 GW, followed by the United States with nearly 4.1 GW.
GWEC forecasts a compound average growth rate of 8.8% for the wind industry by 2030, with another 981 GW of capacity added across the world by then.
CONTEXT
Renewable energy in most cases is the cheapest option.
However, the GWEC said policy instability has increased in some markets. It said permitting, grid transmission and auctioning mechanisms needed to be improved to accommodate increased amounts of renewable power.
KEY QUOTES
"We are seeing a more volatile policy environment in some parts of the world, including ideologically driven attacks on wind and renewables and the halting of under construction projects, threatening investment certainty," Ben Backwell, chief executive of GWEC, said.
"The aggressive stoking of tariff wars adds further uncertainty to international investment decisions and threatens to disrupt the international supply chains which the wind industry relies on," he added.
(Reuters)
