According to a recent report from Wood Mackenzie, global wind energy capacity is expected to surpass the milestone of 1 terawatt (TW) sometime in 2023.
With the world's total energy capacity from all sources now roughly 8 TW, the share of the world's energy generated from climate-friendly wind turbines is already more than 10 percent - and the really good news is that it's set to grow further phenomenally quickly.
The world's push toward wind power has been led by China, which accounts for more than a quarter of all wind capacity worldwide, and is currently building what will be the world's largest offshore wind farm. Germany, the United States, India, Spain, the UK, France, and Brazil have also proven notable global leaders in wind power.
This 1 TW milestone is the culmination of more than four decades of effort and investment. But the 2 TW won't take nearly as long; it is expected to be reached by 2030 or sooner due to rapidly accelerating investment around the world, says the report. By 2032, the global wind power sector will likely see sevenfold growth compared to today and account for more than a quarter of all energy capacity worldwide. And, since projections about renewable growth almost always underestimate the reality, we should expect this wind capacity forecast to be achieved before 2032.
“Unprecedented decarbonisation and energy security policy support in the US and Europe will help the industry recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. These markets will also experience a renewed focus on repowering in order to revitalise the assets that were constructed in the early years of the industry's journey to 1 TW,” says Luke Lewandowski, Wood Mackenzie Research Director.
With strong growth in solar energy happening in parallel (and solar efficiency continually breaking records), the world's race to a clean energy future is most definitely accelerating.
