Despite an overall slump in installations in 2013, the global cumulative wind power capacity is expected to more than double from 319.6 GW at the end of 2013 to 678.5 GW by 2020, according to a new report from research and consulting firm GlobalData.
GlobalData expects global annual wind capacity additions to exceed 60 GW by 2020.
China, which was responsible for 45% of total global wind capacity additions in 2013, is expected to remain the market leader with a cumulative wind capacity of 239.7 GW by 2020, followed by the United States with 104.1 GW. China overtook the US as the leading market for installations in 2010, when it added 18.9 GW of wind capacity.
"China doubled its cumulative wind capacity every year from 2006 to 2009 and has continued to grow significantly since then, " commented Harshavardhan Reddy Nagatham, GlobalData’s Analyst covering Alternative Energy.
"Supportive government policies, such as an attractive concessional program and the availability of low-cost financing from banks, have been fundamental to China’s success."
Growth in the US is expected to increase from 68.9 GW in 2014 to 104.1 GW in 2020, says GlobalData. This will be driven largely by renewable energy targets in several states, such as Alaska’s aim to reach 50% renewable power generation and Texas’ mandate to achieve 10 GW of renewable capacity, both by 2025.
Wind Power, Update 2014 – Global Market Size, Average Price, Competitive Landscape, and Key Country Analysis to 2020 is available on the GlobalData website.
