2023 was record year for wind installations: Research

Last year saw record wind power installations worldwide, with a total of 117 gigawatts in new capacity, according to a report published Tuesday by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

The figure represents a 50 percent increase from 2022, according to the report. Specifically, onshore capacity also saw a record high in 2023, reaching 106 gigawatts, the first time it’s broken 100. The 10.8 gigawatts of offshore capacity are the second-best single-year figure.

The best new markets for wind power are geographically varied, but high-population countries were particularly well-represented. These markets included the U.S., China, Brazil, India and Germany, according to the report.

Latin America saw record growth of 21 percent from 2022 to 2023, driven largely by Brazilian installations, GWEC found.

Despite the progress, the report authors said that annual growth must continue to increase to meet the goals set at last year’s COP28 international climate summit, which called for the tripling of renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade. The report put the necessary growth to meet this goal at 320 gigawatts.

“[A]s a key energy transition technology, the wind industry needs policymakers to be laser-focused on addressing growth challenges such as planning bottlenecks, grid queues and poorly designed auctions,” GWEC CEO Ben Backwell said in a statement. “These are the measures that will significantly ramp up project pipelines and delivery, rather than reverting to restrictive trade measures and hostile forms of competition.”

The report comes on the heels of dramatic growth for wind and solar in the U.S. as well, with states known for fossil fuel extraction like Oklahoma and Texas leading the way.

Meanwhile, last week the Interior Department announced a final rule that will cut costs to develop wind and solar power on public lands, with the department estimating the rule will cut fees about 80 percent.