Wind energy installations hit new high in 2023

Wind energy saw record growth last year. New installations increased 50% in 2023 compared with a year earlier, according to the Global Wind Energy Council’s new annual report.

The organization attributed the gains to “increased political ambition” and last year’s COP28 climate conference, when global leaders from about 200 countries agreed to triple the amount of renewable energy that is produced by 2030.

“Around the world, we are beginning to see the positive impacts of major policy interventions designed to incentivize new projects,” Global World Energy Council Chairman Jonathan Cole said in a statement.

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the European Union’s Wind Power Package and China’s Five-Year Plan have all helped drive wind energy to a record capacity of 1 terawatt — enough to power 10 billion 100-watt light bulbs. Meeting the 2030 target will require a tripling of wind energy capacity to 3 terawatts by the end of the decade.

While the number of onshore wind installations last year was the highest ever and offshore projects reached their second highest level, “We must acknowledge that this rate of growth still leaves us far short of the tripling target,” Cole said.

Meeting the 2030 goal is being “tested by the tough macroeconomic climate,” Cole added. “Global inflationary pressures, rising cost of capital and fragility in the supply chain have affected our ability to ramp up in many regions.”

The group said 54 countries built new wind power projects last year. China set a new record for installations, adding 75 gigawatts of the 117-gigawatt total of new installations last year. One gigawatt is enough to power 750,000 homes. The United States ranked second for onshore wind projects, adding 6.4 gigawatts of capacity, followed by Brazil and Europe.

The wind energy report comes about a month after the Solar Energy industries Assn. said new electricity-generating capacity from solar increased 51% in 2023 compared with a year earlier, marking the first time a renewable electricity source had made up more than 50% of capacity additions in a single year.