Asia will rescue falling wind energy market

By the end of 2016, total global wind power capacity will be just under 500GW, with an annual market in that year of about 60GW.

Overall, GWEC predicts average annual market growth rates of about 8 per cent for the next five years, but with a strong 2012 and a substantial dip in 2013.

Total installations for the 2012-2016 period are expected to reach 255GW, with cumulative market growth averaging just under 16 per cent.

“For the next five years, annual market growth will be driven primarily by India and Brazil, with significant contributions from new markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia,” said Steve Sawyer, GWEC Secretary General.

“While the market continues to diversify across all continents, it is at the same time plagued by continued slow economic growth and budget crises in the OECD, as well as the continuing credit crunch.”

For the second year running, the majority of new installations were outside the OECD and this trend will no doubt continue.

Asia will continue to be the world’s largest market with far more new installations than any other region, installing 118GW between now and 2016, and surpassing Europe as the world leader in cumulative installed capacity sometime during 2013, ending the period with about 200GW in total.