Wind energy industry ‘set for continued growth in the next five years’ despite Covid-19

More than 348GW of new capacity are forecast to be installed by 2024, according to a new report

The wind energy industry is set for continued growth in the next five years despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

That’s according to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council, which predicts from 2020 to 2024 the global wind energy market will grow at a rate of 8.5%, installing 348GW of new capacity and bringing total global wind power capacity to nearly 1,000GW by the end of 2024.

That translates to an increase of 54% for total wind power installations compared to 2019, according to the report.

The organisation also estimates 71.3GW of wind energy capacity will be installed in 2020 despite the coronavirus crisis.

GWEC also predicts 2020 will be another record year for the offshore wind industry, with 6.5GW of new installations expected to take place.

It also estimates more than 48GW of offshore wind capacity will be installed with another 157GW forecasted to be deployed from 2025 to 2030.

Ben Backwell, Chief Executive Officer of GWEC, said: “While the Covid-19 crisis has impacted every industry across the world, wind power has continued to grow and thrive. This is no surprise given the cost competitiveness of wind energy and the need to rapidly reproduce carbon emissions.”

Feng Zhao, Strategy Director at GWEC, commented: “China and the US will continue to be the two main markets driving growth over the next few years.”

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