Wind - March 12, 2021
Global wind market grew 59% in 2020 despite pandemic
The global wind market commissioned 96.3 GW of new capacity in 2020, reflecting 59% growth year-on-year, despite the economic challenges presented to the market due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s according to a new report released March 10 by BloombergNEF. The report found that 94% of these new installations, which is contrasted with 60.7 GW of new wind capacity that was installed in 2019, were installed on land. Offshore wind installations accounted for just 6.1 GW of new capacity, a 19% decrease from 2019.
The report also found that only four manufacturers accounted for more than half (51%) of the new turbines installed: General Electric (GE), which accounted for the most with 6.6GW of added capacity, and Vestas, Goldwind and Envision. The data showed a surge in installation in the U.S. and China, where GE and Goldwind operate, respectively.
The U.S. commissioned 16.5 GW of new wind capacity, which was 77% more than in 2019 and 2.6 GW higher than its previous record in 2012. GE accounted for 57% of this new capacity.
There was 57.8 GW of new wind capacity commissioned in China in 2020. In the onshore market, this was more than was commissioned by the entire world in 2019.
“Over twenty turbine makers supplied wind turbines to China and many of them were able to double or triple their year-on-year installed capacity,” said Leo Wang, Beijing-based wind associate at BNEF. “The expiring onshore and offshore subsidies fuelled the uptick in installations. Following the lapse of onshore feed-in premiums, the market is likely to see demand drop this year.”
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