Belgium, Brussels: Despite the economic and supply chain impacts of COVID-19, the global wind energy industry continues to power ahead and reach new records.

According to new analysis by GWEC Market Intelligence in its latest Q4 2020 Wind Energy Auction Update, nearly 30 GW of new wind power capacity was awarded globally through auctions in the second half of 2020, which is a slight increase compared to the 28 GW awarded during H2 2019. This surge in new auctioned capacity is a clear signal that the industry is back on track and committed to building up the global pipeline of wind power projects, notes the report.

Overall, nearly 35 GW of new wind power capacity was auctioned globally in 2020. The update acknowledges that although this is a 26.5 % decrease compared to the previous year, 2020 was still the second-highest year on record for auctioned wind capacity.

“Although there were initial concerns from the industry that the COVID-19 pandemic would severely impact the pipeline of wind power projects across the world, the sector’s impressive comeback in Q3 and Q4 2020 has shown that wind power has emerged from the crisis stronger than ever, with 2021 now expected to be a record year for new auctioned capacity,” said Feng Zhao, head of strategy and market intelligence at GWEC.

This influx of auctioned capacity in H2 2020 was led by the world’s largest wind market – China.

In addition to the remarkable growth in China, there were eight other countries which awarded new wind power capacity in H2 2020, including: India (2.2 GW), Germany (1.5 GW), Poland (900 MW), Netherlands (759 MW) Ireland (479 MW), Greece (472 MW), France (258 MW), and Ecuador (110 MW).

Source: ESI Africa