More than 300GW of new wind capacity will be installed around the world in the next five years.

That’s the prediction from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), which expects the majority of this growth to be driven by increasing investment in offshore wind and emerging markets such as Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

The organisation suggests offshore wind is entering into an “accelerated growth period” as the sector becomes “truly globalised” – it expects 40GW of new offshore wind capacity will be installed over the period.

It notes 2018 was a positive year for the wind industry, with 51.3GW of new capacity added and claims the wind industry continued to prove its cost-competitiveness in relation to fossil fuel and nuclear generation.

GWEC says changing business models are driving growth by intensifying competition, while a steady growth in corporate sourcing from large companies is driving strong growth in mature wind markets.

Karin Ohlenforst, Director of Market Intelligence at GWEC, said: “2018 was a good year for the global wind industry, with installations remaining above 50GW.

“The dominance of onshore wind power is not surprising given continued and growing investment, with market-based mechanisms like auctions, tenders and Green Certificates being the main drivers of new onshore installations, accounting for 35% of total installations.”

Article source: https://www.energylivenews.com/2019/04/03/nearly-300gw-of-new-wind-capacity-will-be-built-in-next-five-years/