Wind industry can expect record installations by 2025: Report

The wind industry can expect record installations in both onshore and offshore markets by 2025 with 680 GW of new capacity expected by 2027, said the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) annual report 2023 on Tuesday. Policymakers need to act now to avoid a supply chain bottleneck stalling the deployment of wind energy from 2026. Those supply chain challenges could imperil hopes of the world reaching key 2030 climate targets — a key stop on the journey to net zero by 2050. After a disappointing year in 2022, a fast-evolving policy environment has set the scene for a period of accelerated deployment over the coming years, with the industry set to install 136 GW per year, reaching a compound growth rate of 15 per cent. As the global wind report demonstrates, there is an urgent need to ramp up investment in the supply chain all around the world. GWEC’s mapping shows that both the US and Europe are likely to see supply bottlenecks for turbines and components from as soon as 2025, as the wind market sees the positive impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act, increased ambition in Europe, continued rapid build out in China and large developing countries speeding up their deployment. Decisions made by policy makers will have a decisive impact on whether the world will be able to carry out the energy transition within the necessary timeframe, and the cost of the transition. While moves to further incentivize investment in supply chains and create more regional diversification and resilience are to be welcomed, attempts to create rigid local content requirements or implement protectionist trade measures create the risks of sharply higher costs or even serious delays to the necessary expansion of wind and renewables. Ben Backwell, Global Wind Energy Council CEO, said: “The message for policymakers from this yeara?s Global Wind Report is clear: it is time to double down on your ambition and deliver the support that will secure the clean energy future dawning