According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the installed wind capacity in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean increased by 13.4 GW in 2019. In North America, new installations accelerated (+18% compared to 2018 installations) as the United States installed more than 9.1 GW of new wind capacity before the end of the Production Tax Credit (PTC), which has recently been extended by one year to end-2020.
Installations slowed down in Central and South America and the Caribbean (compared to 2018), despite noticeable growth in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. Mexico’s wind power capacity increased by over 1,280 MW in 2019 to over 6 GW; in addition, Mexico’s solar power capacity rose by more than 60% in 2019, generating more than US$8.5bn in investment, according to the Mexican Solar Energy Association (Asolmex). Argentina installed 931 MW, while Brazil installed 745 MW in 2019. Brazil has the potential for as much as 700 GW of offshore wind, according to the country’s Energy Research Office (EPE). Moreover, new markets are emerging, such as Chile, which added 526 MW of wind capacity in 2019 and Colombia, which executed its first renewable auction during the year.
The GWEC estimates that this surge in wind capacity in Americas is expected to continue and that 220 GW of new wind capacity could be added in the region between 2020 and 2024.
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