Global wind power capacity rose by 51 GW in 2018

According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), 51.3 GW of new wind capacity was commissioned in 2018, of which 46.8 GW onshore and 4.5 GW offshore. The top five onshore markets that led the growth were China (+21 GW), the United States (+7.6 GW), Germany (+2.4 GW), India (+2.2 GW) and Brazil (1.9 GW). Promising regions such as Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa also contributed to this figure and were responsible for 4.8 GW (10%) of new wind onshore installations in 2018. As for offshore wind, the main contributions were recorded in China (+1.8 GW), the United Kingdom (+1.3 GW), Germany (+1 GW) and Belgium (+0.3 GW).

The GWEC expects the global wind power capacity to increase by around 55 GW per year by 2023, i.e. an addition of around 300 GW by this date, as technology costs fall further and emerging markets drive the growth trend. The increasing competitiveness of offshore wind and the growth in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia will drive the wind power market, while mature regions such as Europe and the United States will continue to commission stable volumes by then. Much of this capacity is likely to be added in the form of auction and tender programmes.