RENEWABLES 2023 GLOBAL STATUS REPORT

Renewables in Energy Supply

Wind Power

Key Facts
Wind Power

  • An estimated 89 GW of wind power capacity was mechanically installed in 2022, of which more than 77 GW was added to the world's grids, bringing the total grid-connected capacity to an estimated 906 GW.
  • Global grid-connected additions fell more than 17% due mainly to slowdowns in China and the United States; Europe was the only region where installations rose.
  • Countries around the world increased their wind power targets, driven by climate change, energy security, and economic growth goals, as well as the cost-competitiveness of wind energy.
  • While offshore installations declined relative to 2021, due mainly to a temporary slowdown in China, the global pipeline nearly doubled in 2022 to nearly 1.2 terawatts across 38 countries.
  • The industry continued to innovate to change the cost base of projects; to address challenges associated with scaling up production, transport and other logistical issues; and to enhance the value of wind energy while further improving its environmental and social sustainability.

More than 77 GW i of wind power capacity – including 68.4 GW onshore and nearly 8.8 GW offshore – was added to the world's grids in 2022, increasing the total operating capacity 9% to an estimated 906 GW. 1 (See Figure 31.) In total, an estimated 89 GW ii was mechanically installed around the world during 2022. 2

The year 2022 was the third largest ever for new installations. 3 However, relative to 2021, global grid-connected additions fell more than 17% (5% onshore and 58% offshore) due mainly to slowdowns in China and the United States; Europe was the only region where installations rose in 2022. 4 Investment in future projects also dropped in all regions except Asia-Pacific, even as many countries increased their ambitions for wind power and as fossil fuel prices surged, making renewables more competitive. 5

The top policy mechanisms supporting wind power installations in 2022 were China's “grid parity” scheme, auctions in multiple countries, and the US Production Tax Credit. 6 Countries around the world increased wind power targets, driven by climate change, energy security and economic growth goals, as well as the cost-competitiveness of wind energy. 7 Private sector power purchase agreements (PPAs) also played a key role in driving demand for new capacity, with an estimated 10.9 GW of contracts signed in 2022. 8

Despite the competitiveness of wind energy and ambitious national targets, new obstacles in 2022 compounded existing challenges, affecting installations and investments, the health of the wind industry and its ability to scale production to meet future demand. 9 Pressured by policies that for years focused almost exclusively on achieving the lowest possible price of wind energy, manufacturers have raced to build ever-larger turbines – at great expense – to compete on price. 10 Delayed permitting for new projects has constrained deployment across much of the world, as have protracted, complex and expensive grid planning and long grid connection queues. 11 The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains, created logistics challenges, pushed up costs for shipping and materials, and delayed projects iii – challenges that continued into 2022. 12

FIGURE 31.

Wind Power Global Capacity and Annual Additions, 2012-2022

 FIGURE 31.

Note: Totals may not add up due to rounding. Additions in 2022 are gross.

Source: See endnote 1 for this section.

Throughout the year, shortages of skilled labour and inflation – exacerbated by the Russian Federation's war on Ukraine – pushed energy and materials costs higher, further impacting the profitability of both onshore and offshore iv wind energy. 13 Unfavourable policies and shifting regulatory landscapes in many countries increased market uncertainty, while developers delayed projects due to rising costs and interest rates, thereby reducing new turbine orders. 14 Western manufacturers also faced increased competition from Chinese turbine makers, which have pro-actively pursued sales overseas. 15

In 2022, the top western wind turbine manufacturers all experienced heavy financial losses, even as fossil fuel companies had record profits.

For the top European and US manufacturers, these trends resulted in job cuts, shuttered facilities and underinvestment in new manufacturing capacity, at a time when expansion of production is needed to meet ambitious government targets. 16 The top western wind turbine manufacturers all experienced heavy financial losses in 2022, despite rising fossil fuel prices and turmoil in fossil gas markets, and even as fossil fuel companies saw record profits. 17

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Large manufacturers in China have fared better in recent years thanks to predictable policies and a large domestic steel industry, but also have witnessed eroding profits. 18 Following on western manufacturers, which began raising turbine prices in 2021, China's Goldwind noted in early 2022 that, after years of dramatic price reductions, there was no more room for prices to fall. 19

Against such challenges, the industry (at least outside of China) has expressed the need for policy makers to address barriers related to permitting and grid access and to take a more holistic approach, prioritising the economic and societal benefits of wind power rather than focusing solely on minimising price. 20 On a positive note, non-price criteria are increasingly being included in policy design, at least for offshore wind auctions in Europe. 21 In addition, strong community engagement and local investment have helped reduce local resistance to projects and speed the permitting process in many countries. 22

Top Markets

New wind farms reached full commercial operation in at least 45 countries in 2022, down from 52 countries in 2021. 23 For the 15th consecutive year, Asia (mostly China) was the largest regional market, representing 55% of new grid-connected capacity (down from 58% in 2021). 24 Most of the remaining installations were in Europe (23%), home to 6 of the top 10 countries worldwide; North America (12%); and Latin America and the Caribbean (6.8%). 25 By country, China was followed distantly by the United States, which was well ahead of Brazil, Germany and Finland; these five countries together accounted for almost 72% of annual installations. 26 Other countries in the top 10 v for total capacity additions were France, Sweden, India, the United Kingdom and Spain. 27 (See Figure 32.) The list of the 10 vi leading countries for cumulative capacity remained the same as in 2021. 28

FIGURE 32.

Wind Power Capacity and Additions, Top 10 Countries, 2022

 FIGURE 32.

Note: Numbers above bars are gross additions, but bar heights reflect year-end totals. Net additions were lower for China (36.5 GW), the United States (8.3 GW) and Germany (2.5 GW) due to decommissioning. Totals may not add up due to rounding.

Source: See endnote 27 for this section.

China completed its shift to “grid parity” at the start of 2022 with the expiration of the national feed-in tariff (FIT) for offshore projects, meaning that all new wind projects receive the regulated price for coal-fired generation in each province. 29 Installers connected 37.6 GW vii of wind capacity to the national grid (32.6 GW onshore and more than 5 GW offshore), accounting for more than half of global additions in 2022. 30 Although land-based grid-tied additions rose 6.2%, to 32.6 GW (net of 31.5 GW after decommissioning), total grid-connected installations declined nearly 21% as new offshore capacity fell more than 70% following the policy-driven boom in 2021. 31 Project commissioning late in the year also was slowed significantly by pandemic-related restrictions. 32

At the end of 2022, China's total grid-connected wind power capacity was 365.4 GW, including 334 GW onshore and 31.4 GW offshore. 33 Wind generation rose 16.3% in 2022 and accounted for 8.8% of Chinese electricity production, up from 7.8% in 2021 and 6.1% in 2020. 34 In late December, the government announced a target to reach 430 GW of wind power capacity by the end of 2023. 35

China continued to dominate wind turbine manufacturing as well as the global supply chain for critical components (with a market share of more than 70%) and raw materials. 36 The country accounts for some 60% of global turbine and component manufacturing capacity. 37 Although most Chinese-made turbines continue to be installed domestically, declining demand and fierce competition at home has triggered price wars and pushed manufacturers to turn elsewhere, and the competitive pricing and technological improvements of Chinese turbines have attracted greater international interest vii . 38 Six of the world's top 10 turbine producers in 2022 were based in China; the remaining four were Vestas (Denmark), which by some accounts was edged out for first place by China's Goldwind, followed by Siemens Gamesa (Spain), GE (US) and Nordex Group (Germany). 39

The United States continued to rank second for capacity additions and year-end total. However, US installations in 2022 were down 37% relative to 2021, totalling 8.6 GW viii (gross additions, all onshore), the country's lowest annual additions since 2018. 40 Both the nascent offshore sector and more than 10 GW of onshore capacity were delayed due to supply chain constraints, grid interconnection issues and policy uncertaintyiv. 41 By year's end, the United States had 144.2 GW (including 42 MW offshore) of wind power capacity in operation. 42 Wind energy accounted for 10.2% of US utility-scale electricity generation in 2022, up from 9.2% in 2021. 43

The US pipeline of projects also declined (down 13%) in 2022; at year's end, capacity in advanced development exceeded 26.7 GW, of which 16.7 GW was offshore. 44 Announcements for wind PPAs rose 15% relative to 2021, although they were below those for the period 2018-2020. 45 PPA prices also increased, by 27% year-on-year, but fell late in 2022 for the first time since 2020 as the US Inflation Reduction Act began to have some effect. 46

The third ranking country for newly installed capacity was Brazil, for the third year running. Wind represented almost half of the country's new power capacity, with record additions of nearly 4.1 GW. 47 Brazil accounted for almost 80% of installations in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2022. 48 The country's strong growth was driven by public auctions and particularly by private PPAs, with the shift towards corporate PPAs continuing. 49 Wind energy has achieved the country's lowest free market price for electricity. 50 At the end of 2022, Brazil had more than 25.6 GW of operating wind power capacity. 51 Wind energy was the country's second largest source of electricity after hydropower, accounting for 13.6% of the mix in 2022. 52

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Europe placed second after Asia for regional share of new global installations and accounted for all of the remaining top 10 countries, with the exception of India. It was the only region where installations increased in 2022, up nearly 12%. 53 All of Europe added a record 17.9 GW (net 17.4 GW ix ) of capacity in 2022, most of which was installed onshore (86.2%), for a year-end total of 242.4 GW (212.1 GW onshore and 30.3 GW offshore). 54 The EU accounted for most of the installations, adding nearly 15.8 GW (14.5 GW onshore, more than 1.2 GW offshore) to total 204.1 GW (187.8 GW onshore and nearly 16.3 GW offshore). 55

Europe was the only region where wind power installations were up in 2022, with record additions of 17.9% GW. However, investment in new projects reached the lowest level since 2009.

Despite the region's record installations in 2022, an estimated 80 GW of capacity was stuck in permitting procedures across the EU and Norway at year's end. 56 Individual countries worked to simplify planning procedures during the year, and in December the EU formally agreed on emergency measures to address permitting challenges. 57

Across the EU Member States, targets for wind power capacity total around 423 GW by 2030. 58 In 2022, however, Europe's turbine orders fell 36% (to 10.7 GW), following a smaller decline in 2021. 59 Investment in new projects reached the lowest level since 2009, due to high inflation and government market interventions that undermined investor confidence. 60

The region's top installers were Germany, Finland, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom (which lost the regional lead after regaining it in 2021) and Spain. 61 These six countries accounted for nearly 60% of Europe's annual wind power installations and were all among the global top 10. 62 Except for Sweden and the United Kingdom, annual additions increased significantly in all of these countries in 2022. 63

Germany claimed Europe's top spot for new capacity in 2022 and ranked fourth globally. The country added more than 2.7 GW (2.4 MW onshore, 0.3 GW offshore) and decommissioned nearly 0.3 GW, for a year-end total of more than 66.3 GW (almost 58.3 GW onshore, 8.1 GW offshore). 64 Net installations were up sharply (46.5%) over 2021 but still well below the peak of 6.1 GW in 2017, the last year in which new capacity qualified under Germany's FIT system. 65 Wind energy generation increased 9% x in 2022, to 125.3 TWh. 66

To accelerate deployment, Germany committed to installing 10 GW of onshore wind power annually starting in 2025 and set new targets for offshore capacity. 67 During 2022, however, all wind-specific auctions in Germany were undersubscribed, and at year's end investor confidence was down due to an impending levy xi on profits from generation. 68 Such measures, intended to help consumers deal with the energy crisis sparked by the Russian Federation's war on Ukraine, have reportedly stifled development in other European countries as well. 69

Following Germany for new wind power capacity was Finland, which had a record year with 2.4 GW added (all onshore), to rank second in Europe and fifth worldwide. 70 Finland's total operating wind power capacity rose more than 74%, to 5.7 GW, as the country worked to achieve net zero emissions by 2035 and speed its transition from imported fuels. 71 Finland met around 14% of its electricity demand with wind energy in 2022. 72

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France also set a new record for annual installations, ranking third in Europe and sixth worldwide. 73 The country added nearly 2.1 GW in 2022, including the first commercial-scale wind project off French shores, for a year-end total approaching 21.1 GW (almost 20.7 GW onshore and nearly 0.5 GW offshore). 74 Wind energy met an estimated 8% of France's electricity demand during the year. 75

Annual installations in Sweden fell slightly, but 2022 was still the country's second strongest year ever, with nearly 2.1 GW added (all onshore) for a total of 14.2 GW (including 0.2 GW offshore). 76 The country ranked fourth in Europe and seventh globally for new capacity. 77 Sweden does not use auctions to support deployment of wind power capacity, but the domestic industry is supported by a strong PPA market. 78 Wind energy generation made up for a 6% drop in hydropower output during 2022 and, in the first two months of 2023, it accounted for 27% of Sweden's total generation. 79

Despite a 36% decline in additions relative to 2021, the United Kingdom continued to rank among the top countries in Europe (fifth) and the world (ninth). 80 Onshore additions rose slightly (0.5 GW), while offshore installations fell nearly 50% (below 1.2 GW), following a record year in 2021. 81 After several years of low onshore installation rates, the UK government signalled plans to relax restrictions on land-based construction set in 2015. 82 At year's end, total capacity approached 28.5 GW (14.6 GW onshore, 13.9 GW offshore). 83 Thanks to increased capacity and good winds, UK wind farms generated a record 74 TWh in 2022, enough to power more than 19 million British homes and helping to reduce reliance on fossil gas. 84

Spain added nearly 1.7 GW (all onshore), more than twice the additions of 2021, bringing total capacity to 29.8 GW. 85 The country ranked sixth in Europe and tenth globally for new installations. Spain's only onshore wind power auction in 2022 saw poor results due to a very low secret-bidding price cap; on the positive side, the country launched a scheme to support the repowering of old turbines. 86 Wind energy generation increased slightly over 2021 to an estimated 61 TWh. 87

Over the past two decades, the EU has seen a consistent increase xii in wind energy's output and share of total electricity demand. 88 In 2022, wind generation in the EU and United Kingdom combined was up more than 9%, due to new installations and strong winds in many countries, and met around 17.3% of electricity demand (14.1% onshore, 3.2% offshore). 89 Denmark (55%) and Ireland (34%) had the highest wind energy shares in their electricity mix, and shares exceeded 20% in the United Kingdom (28%), Germany (26%), Portugal (26%), Spain and Sweden (both 25%). 90 At year's end, Germany continued to lead in Europe for total wind power capacity, with 66.3 GW, followed by Spain (29.8 GW), the United Kingdom (28.5 GW), France (21.1 GW) and Sweden (14.2 GW). 91 These five countries together accounted for nearly 66% of the regional total. 92

India also ranked among the world's top 10 countries for wind power additions in 2022, rising one spot to rank eighth. 93 Although installations remained below the peak in 2017, when India shifted from FITs to tendering via “reverse auctions xiii ”, annual installations were up 26.6% over 2021, to 1.8 GW, for a year-end total exceeding 41.9 GW (all onshore). 94 Despite this market growth, India did not meet its national target of 60 GW by 2022. 95

Offshore Wind

In the offshore wind power segment, six countries in Europe and three in Asia added nearly 8.8 GW of capacity in 2022, for a global total of 64.3 GW. 96 Wind turbines operating offshore accounted for 11.4% of new grid-connected wind power capacity in 2022 and represented more than 7% of total capacity operating at year's end. 97 Installations were down 59% from the record high in 2021, due almost entirely to a decline in China, but 2022 was still the second highest year for additions. 98 China continued to lead the sector for the fifth consecutive year, with nearly 58% of new capacity, and Europe and Chinese Taipei installed nearly all the rest. 99

As of end 2022, targets for offshore wind power by 2030 approached 380 GW globally.

China added 5.1 GW of offshore wind power capacity in 2022, followed in Asia by Chinese Taipei (1.2 GW), where the country's first offshore project began commercial operation, and Japan (84 MW). 100 (See Snapshot: Japan) China's dramatic decline in added capacity (down from 16.9 GW in 2021) was due mostly to a slowdown after the rush to commission projects before the national FIT expired at the end of 2021, as well as to pandemic-related restrictions. 101 In late 2022, China's largest unsubsidised offshore wind power project (0.9 GW) entered full operations off the coast of Guangdong Province. 102 In total, the country had 31.4 GW operating at year's end, widening its lead over the former front runner (until 2021), the United Kingdom. 103

Snapshot.JAPAN

Japan's First Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in Operation

In December 2022, Japan's first large-scale offshore wind farm began operation in Akita prefecture in the Tohoku region. This marks a turning point for the country, which has been seen as lagging in the energy transition. Japan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and offshore wind power is expected to play a key role in this effort, taking advantage of the country's long coastline and strong wind resource. In 2020, Japan set ambitious targets for 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 30–45 GW by 2040.

Read more Collapse

Japan's First Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in Operation

In December 2022, Japan's first large-scale offshore wind farm began operation in Akita prefecture in the Tohoku region. This marks a turning point for the country, which has been seen as lagging in the energy transition. Japan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and offshore wind power is expected to play a key role in this effort, taking advantage of the country's long coastline and strong wind resource. In 2020, Japan set ambitious targets for 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 30–45 GW by 2040.

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The new offshore farm is expected to be able to power the equivalent of 150,000 households for 20 years. The electricity is sold to Tohoku Electric Power Network Co., Inc. under a power purchase agreement. Realisation of the plant was made possible through stakeholder co-operation. Public universities in Akita and the operating counties agreed on a scheme whereby students can learn the basics of offshore wind energy. The regional government provided funding for local companies to participate in operations and maintenance. Following an auction held in 2021, more Japanese offshore wind projects are scheduled for the coming years. The government also held a public auction for offshore wind in December 2022 under revised rules. Akita prefecture, one of the country's most promising target areas, anticipates creating 40,000 jobs through the projects.

Source: See endnote 100 for this section.

Europe connected 2.5 GW of new offshore capacity to the grid, the region's lowest additions since 2016. 104 Nearly half of this new capacity was operating in UK waters (1.2 GW), where the world's largest offshore project, the Hornsea Two (totalling 1.4 GW), was fully commissioned. 105 In mid-2022, the United Kingdom held the world's first commercial leasing round to support large-scale floating wind power xiv , and soon thereafter the government approved a further 8 GW of offshore wind power deployment to help achieve commitments for net zero emissions and energy security. 106

Elsewhere in Europe, several firsts occurred: France brought online its first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, adding nearly 0.5 GW; the Netherlands (0.4 GW) generated electricity from its first “subsidy-free” wind farm, the 1.5 GW Hollandse Kust Zuid project; Norway commissioned 60 MW of the Hywind Tampen floating project (95 MW total), due for completion in 2023; and Italy brought online its first offshore project (30 MW) and the first in the Mediterranean Sea. 107 Germany also added capacity (0.3 GW) during 2022. 108

At year's end, Europe's total offshore capacity reached 30.3 GW across 13 countries. 109 Several European countries accelerated their offshore targets: by the close of 2022, EU Member States were committed to a combined 111 GW by 2030, and the United Kingdom alone aimed for 50 GW (including 10 GW of floating wind) by 2030. 110 However, offshore wind investments in Europe during 2022 were the lowest since 2007, with final investment decisions delayed for several projects due to inflation as well as price and market uncertainty. 111

As new investment in offshore wind power and related infrastructure declined in Europe, it nearly tripled in the United States, to USD 9.8 billion. 112 More than 13 GW was awarded through state and federal lease sales, including the first offshore wind lease sale xv in the Pacific Ocean (California). 113 Although no additional capacity came online during 2022, the United States had nearly 16.7 GW of capacity in advanced development by year's end. 114 In all, 10 US states had combined procurement targets of more than 74 GW. 115

At least 16 national and sub-national governments set new or increased targets for offshore wind capacity in 2022 – including Nova Scotia (Canada), Victoria State (Australia) and the Philippines – with targets for offshore wind power by 2030 approaching 380 GW globally. 116 Australia declared the first offshore wind energy zones, India issued a draft plan for the country's first offshore wind tenders, and in Brazil proposals for more than 170 GW of projects had been submitted for approval by year's end. 117 Between early 2022 and early 2023, the global offshore wind power pipeline increased by 508 GW, to 1,174 GW across 38 countries, with the global pipeline for floating wind power already exceeding 120 GW by mid-2022. 118

By the end of 2022, 19 countries (13 in Europe, 5 in Asia and 1 in North America) had at least some offshore wind capacity in operation, up from 18 countries in 2021. 119 China led in total capacity (31.4 GW), followed distantly by the United Kingdom (13.9 GW), Germany (8.1 GW), the Netherlands (2.8 GW), Denmark and Belgium (both around 2.3 GW). 120 Asia (mostly China) was home to nearly 53% of global offshore capacity, taking over the lead long held by Europe. 121

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Technology and Innovation

The wind power industry has responded to the transition to auctions as well as to rising material costs and other pressures through consolidation among manufacturers and innovation. 122 In 2022, the industry continued to innovate to change the cost base of projects; to address challenges associated with scaling up production, transport and other logistical issues; and to enhance the value of wind energy while further improving its environmental and social sustainability. 123 Chinese firms led in the volume of new wind-related patent applications. 124

Turbine size continued to increase in order to optimise cost and performance xvi . 125 In 2022, the average size of turbines delivered to market passed 4 MW, 15% larger than in 2021. 126 The average turbine size installed onshore was 3.9 MW, and the average installed offshore exceeded 7.6 MW. 127

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Western turbine manufacturers continued to invest in new models even though they were not making enough profit to cover the costs. 128 For example, Vestas launched the world's tallest tower for onshore turbines (199 metres) in 2022, and GE confirmed in early 2023 that it was developing a 17-18 MW version of its Haliade-X offshore turbine. 129 Chinese firms also have been driven by price pressures to innovate and are competing to outsize one another in turbines. 130 MingYang, for example, launched the world's largest onshore turbine (8.5 MW) in 2022, only to be surpassed by Envision Energy (near 10 MW) and then SANY (11 MW); meanwhile, several Chinese manufacturers began marketing offshore turbines in the 16-18 MW range during the year. 131

The rapid push to develop more powerful machines has strained manufacturing, making it harder to reach the supply chain efficiencies needed to achieve economies of scale; it also has provided little opportunity to learn from installed turbines before moving to the next size up; and, in some cases, has increased permitting challenges. 132 Some western manufacturers have begun shifting their focus from upscaling turbines to standardising product lines in order to reduce production costs and to manufacture turbines more quickly and efficiently. 133

In 2022, companies were working on a variety of technologies to recycle blades and to develop new more-sustainable blade materials

Innovation in the industry continued to focus on making wind energy fully sustainable in a way that is cost-effective in order to remain competitive. 134 Initiatives to reduce emissions associated with turbine production and installation have included redesigning the logistics network and shifting to cleaner sources of energy for production. 135 Substantial efforts also continued to focus on reducing the life-cycle impacts of turbine blades, which typically are made from fibreglass and carbon fibre and end up in landfill sites when they are discarded. 136 In 2022, companies were working on a variety of technologies to recycle blades made from traditional materials or to develop new more-sustainable blade materials. 137

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Footnotes

i Additions are gross (although only a few countries decommissioned significant amounts of capacity in 2022). See endnote 1 for this section.

ii Global additions in 2022 were an estimated 89 GW, for a year-end total of at least 934 GW mechanically installed, including capacity added in China and Vietnam but not officially grid-connected at the end of 2022. Starting with this edition of the GSR, only grid-connected additions are included in text and figure data, unless otherwise noted. “Mechanically installed” refers to capacity that is installed in place and ready to produce electricity but not necessarily officially connected to the grid. See endnote 2 for this section.

iii Project delays created additional challenges as many manufacturers were bound by pre-existing contracts, resulting in sales at significant loss.

iv Offshore wind power was long shielded from the challenges facing onshore wind power because of the long time frame from planning to completion. See endnote 13 for this section.

v The top 10 markets in 2021 were China, the United States, Brazil, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Australia, India and Türkiye. To rank among the top 10 in 2022, annual installations of more than 1.6 GW were required, up from 1.4 GW in 2021 and 1.1 GW in 2020. See endnote 27 for this section.

ivi The top 10 countries for cumulative capacity at the end of 2021 and 2022 were China, the United States, Germany, India, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Canada and Sweden.

vii The Chinese Wind Energy Association reported that 44.7 GW was mechanically installed onshore, but more than 12 GW of this capacity was not grid-connected by year's end. See endnote 30 for this section.

viii As of the end of 2022, more than 4,000 Chinese turbines had been exported, representing a cumulative capacity of around 12 GW, or less than 3% of non-Chinese capacity. See endnote 38 for this section.

ix In addition, 11 projects were partially repowered (1.8 GW) during the year and 6 completed full repowering (0.5 GW). See endnote 40 for this section.

iv The Production Tax Credit expired at the end of 2021 but was increased and extended in August 2022 with passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA's impact on the wind industry was muted during 2022 by lack of guidance about how to access credits. See endnote 41 for this section.

xi The difference is due to decommissioning. See endnote 54 for this section.

xii However, it was down relative to 2019 and 2020, due to low wind speeds for much of 2022. See endnote 66 for this section.

xiii The levy would take 90% of wind (and solar) energy profits above EUR 130 (USD 138.8) per MWh, or above a benchmark based on the feed-in tariff assigned to a specific project. Other EU Member States also began imposing limits on electricity prices, including at levels below those agreed by the EU in September 2022. See endnote 68 for this section.

xiv The year 2021 was an exception, with output down relative to 2020 due to poor wind conditions.

xv An auction in which suppliers that meet certain minimum criteria can submit non-negotiable price bids, and the buyer selects winners based on lowest-priced bids first. The reverse auctions / bidding policy was halted in 2022. See endnote 94 for this section.

xvi Floating wind power uses floating platforms that are anchored to the seabed with mooring chains, rather than fixed structures that lock turbines to the sea floor. It enables the use of the best offshore locations for capturing energy from the wind. By one estimate, the use of floating turbines can triple the size of the potential market. See endnote 106 for this section.

xvii It was also the first lease sale in the United States to support commercial-scale floating wind power.

xviii Larger, higher-efficiency turbines mean that fewer turbines, foundations, converters and cables, and less labour and other resources, are required for the same output, translating into faster project development, reduced risk, lower costs of grid connection and of operation and maintenance, and overall greater yield, all important for the offshore sector in particular. See endnote 125 for this section.

  1. Global additions in 2022 are gross (not accounting for decommissioned capacity), and all data are based on the following: Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, p. 10, https://gwec.net/globalwindreport2023; GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, unpublished document; American Clean Power (ACP), “Clean Power Quarterly 2022 Q4 – Market Report”, February 2023, p. 5, https://cleanpower.org/resources/clean-power-quarterly-market-report-q4-2022; WindEurope, “Wind Energy in Europe: 2022 Statistics and the Outlook for 2023-2027”, February 2023, pp. 10, 11, https://windeurope.org/intelligence-platform/product/wind-energy-in-europe-2022-statistics-and-the-outlook-for-2023-2027; G. Costanzo, WindEurope, Brussels, personal communication with REN21, March 13, 2023. Note that GWEC reports installations with turbines larger than 200 kW; projects with smaller turbines are not included. In addition, GWEC data include installed and fully commissioned capacity. During 2022, 1,860 MW was decommissioned, up from 1,132 MW decommissioned in 2021, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. this note. Annual installations reported in this section are gross additions unless otherwise noted (but most countries did not decommission capacity during the year), and year-end totals account for decommissioned capacity. Also, net global additions in 2022 were 74,653 MW for a year-end total of 898,824 MW, based on data from International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), “Renewable Capacity Statistics 2023”, March 2023, p. 14, https://www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Mar/Renewable-capacity-statistics-2023; global additions were 88,631 MW for a year-end total of 934,443 MW (representing the first market decline since 2016), including capacity installed in China but not yet grid-connected by end-2022, from World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), “WWEA Annual Report 2022: Wind power installations 2022 stay below expectations”, March 23, 2023, https://wwindea.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WWEA_WPR2022WEB.pdf; annual installations were down 15%, following two record years, to 86 GW (with offshore installations down 46% to 9.1 GW), from BloombergNEF, “Goldwind and Vestas in Photo Finish for Top Spot as Global Wind Power Additions Fall”, March 23, 2023, https://about.bnef.com/blog/goldwind-and-vestas-in-photo-finish-for-top-spot-as-global-wind-power-additions-fall. Figure 31 based on historical data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. this note, pp. 100-102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. this note; data for 2022 based on sources provided in this note. 1
  2. Capacity installed during the year was 88,631 MW, including capacity installed in China but not officially grid-connected by the end of 2022, for a total of 934,443 MW, from WWEA, op. cit. note 1. Capacity that was mechanically installed during 2022 was 90.3 GW for a total of nearly 940 GW, including 13 GW of new installations in (mostly) China and Vietnam that were not grid-connected by year's end, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 92, and adjusting for lower installations in Sweden, from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1. The higher global capacity numbers from both WWEA and GWEC include 44.7 GW mechanically installed onshore in China, from Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA), cited in GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 98; this number is 12.1 GW higher than the 32.6 GW of grid-connected capacity as reported by China's National Energy Agency (NEA), per GWEC, idem. Previous editions of the Renewables Global Status Report used the CWEA data (including mechanically installed and officially grid-connected capacity in China) for China as well as global totals. The CWEA believed these numbers to best reflect the state of the industry in China. See endnotes in previous editions of this section in past GSRs for more details. Starting with the GSR 2023, only NEA data for China are included, except where otherwise noted. The change reflects the fact that many other organisations, including IRENA and now GWEC, report only grid-connected data; in addition, Vietnam also mechanically installed capacity that was not commissioned in 2022 because of grid connection delays, so it made sense to shift to counting only fully commissioned, grid-connected additions and total installations.2
  3. Third largest year from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 10. 3
  4. Market decline was an estimated 17.5% based on additions of 77.2 GW in 2022 and of 93.6 GW in 2021, calculated using data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 102, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1. Rate of decline in onshore and offshore installations, China, United States and Europe all from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 8, 97. Installations were down 17% relative to 2021, from GWEC, idem, p. 10. The largest declines in annual installations were in North America (down 28%, or 3.8 GW), Africa and the Middle East (down 75%, or 1.4 GW) and Latin America and the Caribbean (down 10%, 0.6 GW). Africa and the Middle East connected 453 MW, the lowest level since 2013; Latin America and the Caribbean were stable with 5.2 GW installed (mostly in Brazil), all from GWEC, idem, p. 109.4
  5. M. Dyrholm, Foreword, in GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 2; W. Mathis, R. Beene and J. Saul, “Wind Power's ‘Colossal Market Failure' Threatens Climate Fight”, Bloomberg, April 25, 2022, https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/wind-power-s-colossal-market-failure-threatens-climate-fight-1.1756429. Despite rising wind costs, wind energy remains cost-competitive due to rising fossil fuel prices, from C. Richard, “Wind turbine maker Vestas expects 2022 loss and ‘profit challenge' in 2023”, Windpower Monthly, January 27, 2023, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1811536/wind-turbine-maker-vestas-expects-2022-loss-profit-challenge-2023; Reve, “The wind power industry's challenging period continued in 2022”, EV Wind, January 27, 2023, https://www.evwind.es/2023/01/27/the-wind-power-industrys-challenging-period-continued-in-2022/89892. Offshore wind also is cost-competitive with fossil generation in spite of recent cost inflation, from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, June 29, 2022, p. 5, https://gwec.net/gwecs-global-offshore-wind-report.5
  6. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 93, 94; F. Zhao, GWEC, personal communication with REN21, May 1, 2023.6
  7. See, for example: A. Symons, “Finland: Wind power increased by 75% last year, boosting energy security and climate goals”, Euro News, January 12, 2023, https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/01/12/finland-wind-power-increased-by-75-last-year-boosting-energy-security-and-climate-goals; Kyodo News, “Japan aims to speed up start of new offshore wind power plants”, March 18, 2022, https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/03/9e13148b7dc4-japan-aims-to-speed-up-start-of-new-offshore-wind-power-plants.html; A. Morales, “U.K. to ramp up offshore wind targets in energy security push”, Bloomberg, March 17, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-17/u-k-to-ramp-up-offshore-wind-targets-in-energy-security-push; GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1; WWEA, op. cit. note 1. Cost-competitiveness also from W. Mathis, “Renewable Power's Big Mistake Was a Promise to Always Get Cheaper”, Bloomberg, November 7, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-07/wind-giant-rues-promise-that-renewable-power-could-be-free. Electricity generation from wind power is cheaper than that from coal in almost every country, even without considering the cost of carbon, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 21.7
  8. See, for example, Statista, “Companies with the largest contracted renewable capacity through corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) worldwide in 2022, by technology”, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1375971/renewable-ppa-capacity-worldwide-by-company-and-technology, accessed April 1, 2023; 10.9 GW (including 4.8 GW in the Americas; 4.6 GW in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and 1.5 GW in Asia-Pacific) from BloombergNEF and provided by Zhao, op. cit. note 6. Of this, about 6.6 GW was contracted in Europe, from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1, May 3, 2023.8
  9. Global targets based on data and sources throughout this section; challenges from, for example, C. Mapes, The Lincoln Electric Company, in GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 6; GWEC, idem, p. 16; WindEurope, “EU wind installations up by a third despite challenging year for supply chain”, January 11, 2023, https://windeurope.org/newsroom/press-releases/eu-wind-installations-up-by-a-third-despite-challenging-year-for-supply-chain; B. Woods, “From GE to Siemens, the wind energy industry hopes billions in losses are about to end”, CNBC, April 17, 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/17/from-ge-to-siemens-wind-energy-hopes-its-crisis-is-about-to-end.html; O. Jenkinson, “Critical risks to European wind supply chain threaten to derail green transition”, Windpower Monthly, April 19, 2023, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1820082/critical-risks-european-wind-supply-chain-threaten-derail-green-transition. 9
  10. J. Saul, W. Mathis and R. Morison, “Planet-Saving Wind Farms Fall Victim to Global Inflation Fight”, Bloomberg, March 10, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-10/offshore-wind-farms-face-fresh-hurdles-around-the-world-because-of-inflation; W. Mathis, R. Beene and J. Saul, “Wind Power's ‘Colossal Market Failure' Threatens Climate Fight”, Bloomberg, April 25, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-25/wind-power-s-colossal-market-failure-threatens-climate-fight; B. Backwell, “We must invest in supply chain to build the next TW”, in GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 3; Reuters Events, “Losses mount at turbine makers; U.S. wind installs dive on supply chain woes”, November 16, 2022, https://www.reutersevents.com/renewables/wind/losses-mount-turbine-makers-us-wind-installs-dive-supply-chain-woes; Reuters Events, “Europe counters U.S. with clean energy package; Inflation hounds turbine suppliers”, February 1, 2023, https://www.reutersevents.com/renewables/wind/europe-counters-us-clean-energy-package-inflation-hounds-turbine-suppliers. 10
  11. Permitting from, for example, Saul, Mathis and Morison, op. cit. note 10; W. Mathis, “Renewable Power's Big Mistake Was a Promise to Always Get Cheaper”, Bloomberg, November 7, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-07/wind-giant-rues-promise-that-renewable-power-could-be-free; N. Ferris, “What the closure of Germany's only wind blade factory says about its energy transition”, Energy Monitor, May 20, 2022, https://www.energymonitor.ai/tech/renewables/what-the-closure-of-germanys-only-wind-blade-factory-says-about-its-energy-transition. Projects have stalled or been delayed in much of the world, including countries in Europe, the United States, India, Japan and elsewhere, from B. Backwell, Foreword, in GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 3. Globally, the average time for permitting of wind projects exceeds five years, and permitting is one of the main barriers to achieving climate neutrality through wind power, from S. Gsänger, in WWEA, “WWEA Webinar: Wind Power Markets Around the World 2023”, Part 1, April 27, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsRW1y_FwLk. In many countries it takes significantly longer; for example, in Sweden the permitting process takes 5-8 years, from A. Wickmann, Swedish Wind Power Association, in WWEA, idem. Grid planning from J. Lee and M. Blanch, “‘Three big barriers stop nations quickly adopting wind power – it's time to break them down'”, REcharge News, March 13, 2023, https://www.rechargenews.com/energy-transition/-three-big-barriers-stop-nations-quickly-adopting-wind-power-its-time-to-break-them-down-/2-1-1418216; A. Lee, “'Bad permitting prime example' Italy in wind industry firing line after green power auction flops”, REcharge News, February 1, 2022, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/bad-permitting-prime-example-italy-in-wind-industry-firing-line-after-green-power-auction-flops/2-1-1161131; Reuters Events, “Europe counters…”, op. cit. note 10; RenewableUK, cited in M. Mace, “Report: UK ‘wasted' enough wind energy to power 1.2 million homes this winter”, edie, February 6, 2023, https://www.edie.net/report-uk-wasted-enough-wind-energy-to-power-1-2-million-homes-this-winter. Connection queues from, for example, R. Kessler, “US clean-power build tumbles to three-year low amid ‘policy and regulatory challenges': ACP”, REcharge News, November 2, 2022, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/us-clean-power-build-tumbles-to-three-year-low-amid-policy-and-regulatory-challenges-acp/2-1-1345060, and from C. Clifford, “Wind and solar power generators wait in yearslong lines to put clean electricity on the grid, then face huge interconnection fees they can't afford”, CNBC, April 6, 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/06/outdated-us-energy-grid-tons-of-clean-energy-stuck-waiting-in-line.html. 11
  12. H. Zaremba, “Europe's wind energy industry has hit a rough
    patch”, https://www.baystreet.ca/articles/commodities/82836/
    112822    ; WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 54.12
  13. Downstream price pressures, pandemic challenges and skilled labour from B. Lepic, “Wind industry feeling tight squeeze on supply chain”, Rig Zone, August 10, 2022, https://www.rigzone.com/news/wind_industry_feeling_tight_squeeze_on_supply_chain-10-aug-2022-169917-article. Pandemic challenges and skilled labour also from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 14; Kessler, op. cit. note 11. Inflation and war in Ukraine from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 5; A.F. Rochas, “EU wind targets under threat from volatile costs”, Reuters Events, November 16, 2022, https://www.reutersevents.com/renewables/wind/eu-wind-targets-under-threat-volatile-costs; Reuters Events, “Losses mount…”, op. cit. note 10; D. Peterson, “The European wind sector is ‘struggling' in the face of escalating costs”, Energy News, October 11, 2022, https://www.energy-news.net/the-european-wind-sector-is-struggling-in-the-face-of-escalating-costs; GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1; Siemens Gamesa, “European's energy independence impossible unless wind power considered a strategic industry”, September 26, 2022, https://www.siemensgamesa.com/en-int/newsroom/2022/09/092622-siemens-gamesa-press-release-europe-wind-energy-security-white-paper. Profitability of offshore as well as onshore, from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 14. For example, the 1.2 GW Commonwealth Wind project near the US coast of Massachusetts was delayed in 2022 for at least a year, and 6 GW of projects off the coast of Germany did not advance, from Saul, Mathis and Morison, op. cit. note 10.13
  14. Unfavourable policies and regulatory landscape from WWEA, op. cit. note 1; Rochas, op. cit. note 13; Reuters Events, “Losses mount…”, op. cit. note 10; Peterson, op. cit. note 13; Kessler, op. cit. note 11; developers from Saul, Mathis and Morison, op. cit. note 10; turbine orders from WindEurope, “Investments in wind energy are down – Europe must get market design and green industrial policy right”, January 31, 2023, https://windeurope.org/newsroom/press-releases/investments-in-wind-energy-are-down-europe-must-get-market-design-and-green-industrial-policy-right; investment from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 8, and from WindEurope, “Europe invested €17bn in new wind in 2022, the lowest since 2009“, March 29, 2023, https://windeurope.org/newsroom/press-releases/europe-invested-e17bn-in-new-wind-in-2022-the-lowest-since-2009. 14
  15. E. Ng, “Chinese wind turbine makers eye Asia, Europe for growth as climate change, energy security take centrestage”, South China Morning Post, August 29, 2022, https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3190585/chinese-wind-turbine-makers-eye-asia-europe-growth-climate; Peterson, op. cit. note 13. 15
  16. See, for example: GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 20, 22; WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 54; Reuters Events, “Losses mount…”, op. cit. note 10; Zaremba, op. cit. note 12; Mathis, op. cit. note 11; Mathis, Beene and Saul, op. cit. note 10; S. Mody, “GE is laying off 20% of its U.S. workforce devoted to onshore wind power, costing hundreds of jobs”, CNBC, October 6, 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/06/ge-layoff-20percent-of-onshore-wind-workforce-hundreds-of-jobs.html; A. Lee, “Wind power giant Siemens Gamesa to axe almost 3,000 jobs in turnaround bid”, REcharge News, September 29, 2022, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/wind-power-giant-siemens-gamesa-to-axe-almost-3-000-jobs-in-turnaround-bid/2-1-1323294; Nordex Acciona Windpower, “Nordex SE: Nordex Group achieves consolidated sales of EUR 5.7 billion”, March 31, 2023, https://www.nordex-online.com/en/2023/03/nordex-se-nordex-group-achieves-consolidated-sales-of-eur-5-7-billion; Nordex Group, “Nordex Group generates order intake of 6.3 GW in the fiscal year 2022”, January 17, 2023, https://www.nordex-online.com/en/2023/01/nordex-group-generates-order-intake-of-6-3-gw-in-the-fiscal-year-2022; A. Lee, “A cyberattack and market headwinds: Loss-making 2022 a year to forget for Nordex”, REcharge News, March 9, 2023, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/a-cyberattack-and-market-headwinds-loss-making-2022-a-year-to-forget-for-nordex/2-1-1416787; N. Ferris, “What the closure of Germany's only wind blade factory says about its energy transition”, Energy Monitor, May 20, 2022, https://www.energymonitor.ai/tech/renewables/what-the-closure-of-germanys-only-wind-blade-factory-says-about-its-energy-transition. 16
  17. See, for example: Mathis, op. cit. note 11; GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 20, 22; WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 54; Reuters Events, “Losses mount…”, op. cit. note 10; Zaremba, op. cit. note 12; Mathis, op. cit. note 11; Mathis, Beene and Saul, op. cit. note 10; Mody, op. cit. note 16; Lee, “Wind power giant…”, op. cit. note 16; Nordex Acciona Windpower, “Nordex SE: Nordex Group achieves consolidated sales of EUR 5.7 billion”, March 31, 2023, https://www.nordex-online.com/en/2023/03/nordex-se-nordex-group-achieves-consolidated-sales-of-eur-5-7-billion; Nordex Group, “Nordex Group generates order intake of 6.3 GW in the fiscal year 2022”, January 17, 2023, https://www.nordex-online.com/en/2023/01/nordex-group-generates-order-intake-of-6-3-gw-in-the-fiscal-year-2022; Lee, “A cyberattack…”, op. cit. note 16; Ferris, op. cit. note 16.17
  18. Predictable policies and steel from Peterson, op. cit. note 13; eroding profits from Lepic, op. cit. note 13. Goldwind, China's largest firm, saw weaker profits for the first half of 2022 and a profit decline was expected for the full year, from W. Mathis and J. Saul, “Wind Farms Need to Boom to Hit Climate Targets, But Growth Is Stalling”, BloombergNEF, March 23, 2023, https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/wind-farms-need-to-boom-to-hit-climate-targets-but-growth-is-stalling. This shift was despite strong growth in sales volume during the year, from Ng, op. cit. note 15.18
  19. Western manufacturers from Mathis, Beene and Saul, op. cit. note 10. Between late 2020 and late 2022, wind turbine prices (at least in Europe) increased 40% due to inflation in commodity prices and other input costs, from WindEurope, “Investments in wind energy…”, op. cit. note 14. Goldwind from Bloomberg News, “China's wind turbine prices have hit bottom, Goldwind says”, April 8, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-08/china-s-wind-turbine-prices-have-hit-bottom-goldwind-says. According to BloombergNEF, turbine prices in China have fallen from about USD 700,000 per MW in early 2020 to about USD 470,000 per MW at the end of 2021, with bids for new projects averaging about USD 370,000 per MW in early 2022, from idem. 19
  20. See, for example: GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 11, 22; A. Frangoul, “The energy transition will fail unless industry fixes wind power issues, Siemens Energy CEO says”, CNBC, November 17, 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/17/energy-transition-will-fail-unless-wind-power-fixes-problems-ceo.html; Ferris, op. cit. note 16; Siemens Gamesa, op. cit. note 13; GWEC, “Global wind industry unites to address climate and energy crises ahead of COP27”, July 15, 2022, https://gwec.net/global-wind-industry-unites-to-address-climate-and-energy-crises-ahead-of-cop27. 20
  21. In 2022, all successful auctions for offshore wind power in Europe included non-price criteria as part of the evaluation, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 77. See also WindEurope, “WindEurope position on non-price criteria in auctions”, April 13, 2022, https://windeurope.org/policy/position-papers/windeurope-position-on-non-price-criteria-in-auctions. 21
  22. S. Gsänger, WWEA, personal communication with REN21,
    May 2, 2023.22
  23. Based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.23
  24. Ibid.; ACP, op. cit. note 1, p. 5; WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11; Costanzo, op. cit. note 1; WWEA, op. cit. note 1. 24
  25. Regional shares based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1, from ACP, op. cit. note 1, p. 5, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1. Numbers in text are based on regional groupings that include Türkiye as part of Asia, rather than Europe; other regional shares include Pacific with just over 2% of the total added in 2022, and Africa and the Middle East with 1.9%, based on data from idem, all sources.25
  26. The top five markets accounted for 71.9% of global installations in 2022, based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1, from ACP, op. cit. note 1, p. 5, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1. 26
  27. Based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1, from ACP, op. cit. note 1, p. 5, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1. Figure of 1.6 GW to rank among top 10 is based on data from idem, all sources. Figure of 1.4 GW in 2021 (and 1.1 GW in 2020) based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2022”, April 4, 2022, https://gwec.net/global-wind-report-2022, p. 112, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2022”, April 2022, unpublished document. Figure 32 based on country-specific data and sources provided throughout this section, and drawn largely from the following: GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1; GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1; WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11; Costanzo, op. cit. note 1; WWEA, op. cit. note 1; ACP, op. cit. note 1.27
  28. Based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1, from ACP, op. cit. note 1, p. 5 https://cleanpower.org/resources/clean-power-quarterly-market-report-q4-2022/, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1.28
  29. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit.
    note 1, p. 52.29
  30. A gross total of 37,631 MW (including 32,579 MW onshore and 5,052 MW offshore) was installed and grid connected in 2022, with 1,1214 MW of onshore capacity decommissioned during the year, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 52, 106, from China's NEA, “National Energy Administration Press Conference”, February 13, 2023, http://www.nea.gov.cn/xwfb/202301zb/index.htm (using Google Translate), and from China Daily, “Solar, wind projects to accelerate”, February 21, 2023, http://english.www.gov.cn/statecouncil/ministries/202302/21/content_WS63f41dafc6d0a757729e6fc7.html. The CWEA reported the installation of 44.7 GW onshore, but China's NEA announced that 32.6 GW was grid-connected in 2022, meaning that 12.1 GW installed were not yet grid-tied at the end of the year, from idem, p. 93, and from NEA, cited in Mathis and Saul, op. cit. note 18. Note that WWEA continues to report data for total mechanically installed capacity, reporting that 48,960 MW was added for a year-end total of 395.6 GW, based on data from the CWEA, cited in WWEA, op. cit. note 1; also note that about 50 GW was added (43.8 GW onshore and 5.16 GW offshore) for year-end total of about 400 GW, from F. Guo, CWEA, participant in WWEA, op. cit. note 11. 30
  31. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 52, 106, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.31
  32. Zhao, op. cit. note 6.32
  33. Based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27,
    2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. Also see E. Ng, “Climate change: China sets another solar power installation record while putting the brakes on fossil fuel capacity”, South China Morning Post, January 18, 2023, https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3207250/climate-change-china-sets-another-solar-power-installation-record-while-putting-brakes-fossil-fuel. 33
  34. Figure of 16.3% based on 762,400 GWh in 2022, and 655,600 GWh
    in 2021, from China Electricity Council, provided by Zhao, op. cit. note 6. Wind penetration was 8.8% by the end of 2022, up from 7.8% in 2021 and 6.1% in 2020; it passed nuclear power in 2018 to become China's third largest source of electricity, after coal and hydropower, all from F. Guo, CWEA, in WWEA, op. cit. note 11. Wind energy accounted for 9.3% of China's electricity mix in 2022, from Ember, cited in SR Bhandari, “China leads, as wind and solar reach record power generation in 2022”, Radio Free Asia, April 12, 2023, https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/china/2023/04/china-230412-rfa03.htm.34
  35. Ng, op. cit. note 33.35
  36. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1,
    pp. 11-12, 24.36
  37. Ibid., pp. 25, 54; Ng, op. cit. note 15. More than 15 manufacturers are active in China, and China (including capacity from three western turbine manufacturers) represents 60% of wind turbine manufacturing capacity (nacelle assembly capability) as of early 2023; most of the rest is in in Europe (19%), the United States (9%), India (7%) and Latin America (4%), all from GWEC Market Intelligence, February 2023, cited in GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1. 37
  38. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, op. cit. note 1, pp. 25, 54; Ng, op. cit. note 15. Fierce competition driving down prices also from Mathis and Saul, op. cit. note 18. As of January 2022, the average price of an onshore wind turbine in China was about half that outside of China, while Chinese-made offshore turbines available in the market also cost less than those made elsewhere, from BloombergNEF, “Wind Turbine Price Index”, cited in BloombergNEF, “Wind – 10 predictions for 2022”, January 28, 2022, https://about.bnef.com/blog/wind-10-predictions-for-2022. An estimated 4,224 turbines had been exported from China as of end-2022, for a cumulative capacity of 12 GW, from F. Guo, CWEA, in WWEA, op. cit. note 11. Less than 3% of capacity outside of China based on 12 GW and estimate of 540,392 MW installed globally outside of China, based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, unpublished document.38
  39. Six of top 10 from BloombergNEF, “Goldwind and Vestas in Photo Finish for Top Spot as Global Wind Power Additions Fall”, March 23, 2023, https://about.bnef.com/blog/goldwind-and-vestas-in-photo-finish-for-top-spot-as-global-wind-power-additions-fall, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Market Development: Supply Side Data 2022”, p. 7, unpublished document. Estimates from BloombergNEF are based on 49 GW of new wind capacity added in China during 2022; not all of this capacity was grid-connected by year's end. Goldwind supplied 12.7 GW of turbines for projects in 2022, followed closely by Vestas (12.3 GW), and then GE (United States, with 9.3 GW), Envision (China, 8.3 GW), Siemens Gamesa (Spain, 6.8 GW) tied with MingYang (China, 6.8), followed by Windey (China, 6.4 GW), Nordex (Germany, 4.7), Sany (China, 4 GW) and CRRC (China,
    3.2 GW), from BloombergNEF, op. cit. this note. GWEC estimates based on total of 89,890 MW installed in 2022 (but not all grid connected by year's end), with Vestas still in the lead with 12.6 GW, followed by Goldwind (11.8 GW), Siemens Gamesa (9.3 GW), GE Renewable Energy (8.8 GW), Envision (8.4 GW), MingYang (6.5 GW), Windey (6.3 GW), Nordex Group (4.9 GW), SANY (4.5 GW) and CRRC (3.9 GW), from GWEC, op. cit. this note, pp. 3, 7.39
  40. Figure of 3.1 GW from J. Hensley, ACP, Washington, DC, personal communication with REN21, April 20, 2023; other data from ACP, op. cit. note 1, pp. 5, 7. Partial and full repowering from R. Davidson, “American Clean Power Association: Policy vacuum feeds five-year low for US onshore wind”, Windpower Monthly, February 17, 2023, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1813784/american-clean-power-association-policy-vacuum-feeds-five-year-low-us-onshore-wind. 40
  41. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 93, from ACP, op. cit. note 1, pp. 5, 7, and from Davidson, op. cit. note 40. Note that the Production Tax Credit was extended and increased for projects that begin construction by the end of December 2024; in 2025, the wind credits will be replaced by technology-neutral credits for low-carbon electricity generation, which will phase out in 2032 (or when US power sector greenhouse gas emissions fall to one-quarter of 2022 levels), from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 108. However, as of early 2023, the US Internal Revenue Service had not issued guidance on how companies can access the tax credits, from Davidson, op. cit. note 40.41
  42. ACP, op. cit. note 1, p. 7.42
  43. Figure of 10.2% based on preliminary data of 434,812 GWh of utility-scale wind generation and 4,243,136 GWh generation from all utility-scale sources during 2022; up from 9.2% based on 378,197 GWh of utility-scale wind generation and 4,108,303 GWh generation from all utility-scale sources during 2021, all from US Energy Information Administration (EIA), “Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2022”, February 2023, Table ES1.B, https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/archive/february2023.pdf. 43
  44. Down 13%, from ACP, op. cit. note 1, p. 13; advanced development pipeline from Davidson, op. cit. note 4044
  45. Davidson, op. cit. note 40.45
  46. Increased 27% from Ibid.; fell late 2022, from Reuters Events, “EU leaders agree ‘targeted' support for clean tech; U.S. wind power prices fall”, February 15, 2023, https://www.reutersevents.com/renewables/wind/eu-leaders-agree-targeted-support-clean-tech-us-wind-power-prices-fall. Capital expenditure requirements for developing wind farms onshore in the United States also increased, by more than 16% between 2020 and 2022, from Saul, Mathis and Morison, op. cit. note 10.46
  47. Almost half is based on the following: Brazil added around 8.5 GW of new generating capacity in 2022, from S. Djunisic, “Brazil expects 10.3 GW of new capacity in 2023, mainly wind and solar”, Renewables Now, January 23, 2023, https://renewablesnow.com/news/brazil-expects-103-gw-of-new-capacity-in-2023-mainly-wind-and-solar-812111, and added 8.2 GW from reve, “Brazil hopes to have 10 GW installed in wind power and solar energy by 2023”, January 20, 2023, https://www.evwind.es/2023/01/20/brazil-hopes-to-have-10-gw-installed-in-wind-power-and-solar-energy-by-2023/89813. Figure of 4.1 GW based on GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 98, and on figure of 4,065 MW (all onshore), from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.47
  48. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 109.48
  49. Ibid., pp. 85, 109. Auctions for the regulated electricity market have been declining in recent years, so PPAs have become the dominant market for wind power, from E. Feitosa, Eolica, Brazil, in WWEA, “WWEA Webinar: Wind Power Markets Around the World 2023”, Part 2, April 27, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QR-ijAgg9Y. 49
  50. Feitosa, op. cit. note 49.50
  51. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. Total year-end capacity was 25,632 MW, from Feitosa, op. cit. note 49. 51
  52. Second largest from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 84; share of electricity mix from Associação Brasileira de Energia Eólica (ABEEólica), provided by Zhao, op. cit. note 6. This was up from 72.3 TWh, or 11.4% of the mix, in 2021, from EPE, “Brazilian Energy Balance 2022, Base Year 2021 / Empresa de Pesquisa Energética – Rio de Janeiro”, 2022, provided by A.R.J. Esparta, peer review comment, undated. 52
  53. Based on data for capacity added in 2022, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, 13, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1; figure of 16 GW added in 2021 based on data from WindEurope, “Wind Energy in Europe: 2021 Statistics and the Outlook for 2022-2026,” February 24, 2022, p. 11, https://windeurope.org/intelligence-platform/product/wind-energy-in-europe-2021-statistics-and-the-outlook-for-2022-2026, and from I. Komusanac, WindEurope, Brussels, personal communication with REN21, April 2022. Note that the GSR does not include Türkiye as part of Europe, so the country's data are not included in these numbers.53
  54. Based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1. All of Europe installed 17,874 MW (15,414 MW onshore and 2,460 MW offshore) in 2022, and decommissioned 454 MW, for a year-end total of 242,432 MW (212,165 MW onshore and 30,267 MW offshore), from idem, both sources. Note that these data do not include Türkiye, which this GSR includes with Asia; they assume pre-2022 capacity for Ukraine and the Russian Federation; and they account for updated statistics for Sweden. Note that Germany was responsible for most decommissioned capacity (266 MW), followed by the Netherlands (80 MW), Austria (39 MW) and Denmark (27 MW), from idem, p. 17. 54
  55. Based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 10, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1. EU Member States added 15,761 MW (14,540 MW onshore and 1,221 MW offshore) in 2022 for a year-end total of 204,112 MW (187,829 MW onshore and 16,283 MW offshore), from idem, both sources. 55
  56. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 8, 9, 44.56
  57. Ibid., pp. 8, 9, 44.57
  58. Ibid., p. 53.58
  59. Figures of 36% and 10.7 GW based on orders of 16.9 GW (less 322 MW in Türkiye) in 2021 and 10.9 GW (less 155 MW in Türkiye) in 2022, from WindEurope, “Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring, 2022 Statistics”, January 2023, unpublished document (for members only); WindEurope, “Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring, 2021 statistics”, January 2022, unpublished document (for members only); and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1, May 3 and 4, 2023. Note that there were undisclosed orders totalling 2.1 GW in 2021 and 2.6 GW in 2022, and some of that capacity could have been for Türkiye (which the GSR does not include with Europe), from Costanzo, op. cit. this note. Decline in order capacity also in 2021, from WindEurope, “Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring, 2021 Statistics”, op. cit. this note. Investment from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 8, and from WindEurope, “Europe invested €17bn…”, op. cit. note 14. Note that the EUR 17 billion investment reported by WindEurope includes EUR 1 billion in Türkiye and EUR 0.3 billion in Azerbaijan, which this report does not classify as being part of Europe; 87% of the EUR 17 billion were in the EU, from WindEurope, “Financing and Investment Trends: The European Wind Industry in 2022”, March 2023, pp. 8, 24, https://windeurope.org/intelligence-platform/product/financing-and-investment-trends-2022.59
  60. Figures of 36% and 10.7 GW based on orders of 16.9 GW (less 322 MW in Türkiye) in 2021 and 10.9 GW (less 155 MW in Türkiye) in 2022, from WindEurope, "Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring, 2022 Statistics", January 2023, unpublished document (for members only); WindEurope, "Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring, 2021 Statistics", January 2022, unpublished document (for members only); and from G. Costanzo, WindEurope, personal communications with REN21, May 3 and 4, 2023. Note that there were undisclosed orders totalling 2.1 GW in 2021 and 2.6 GW in 2022, and some of that capacity could have been for Türkiye (which the GSR does not include with Europe), from Costanzo, op. cit. this note. Decline in order capacity also in 2021, from WindEurope, “Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring, 2021 Statistics", op. cit. this note. Investment from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 8, and from WindEurope, “Europe invested €17bn…”, op. cit. note 14. Note that the EUR 17 billion investment reported by WindEurope includes EUR 1 billion in Türkiye and EUR 0.3 billion in Azerbaijan, which this report does not classify as being part of Europe; 87% of the EUR 17 billion were in the European Union, from WindEurope, “Financing and Investment Trends…”, op. cit. note 59, pp. 8, 24.60
  61. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 7, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1. The leaders were Finland (added 2.4 GW), the United Kingdom and Germany (both 2.3 GW), Sweden (2 GW), Spain (1.7 GW), and France and Poland (both 1.5 GW), from WWEA, op. cit. note 1. 61
  62. Based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10-11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1.62
  63. Based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10-11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1.63
  64. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 14. Germany added 2,403 MW onshore and 342 MW offshore (and decommissioned 266 MW) for a year-end total of 66,322 MW (including 58,267 MW onshore and 8,055 MW offshore), from idem, pp. 10, 17. Germany added 2,318 MW for a total of 66,242 MW, from WWEA, op. cit. note 1. Germany installed 2.4 GW in 2022, up from 1.9 GW in 2021, with 266 MW decommissioned, resulting in 2.1 GW of net additions and total year-end capacity of 58.1 GW, from Deutsche WindGuard, cited in B. Radowitz, “German wind sector urges to ‘overcome permit bottlenecks' despite rise in onshore additions”, REcharge News, January 18, 2023, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/german-wind-sector-urges-to-overcome-permit-bottlenecks-despite-rise-in-onshore-additions/2-1-1389722. The country also repowered 423 MW, from Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE), cited in Radowitz, idem.64
  65. Based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. Last year of FIT from WindEurope, “Wind in Power 2017: Annual Combined Onshore and Offshore Wind Statistics”, February 2018, p. 18, https://windeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/files/about-wind/statistics/WindEurope-Annual-Statistics-2017.pdf; EurObserv'ER, “Wind Energy Barometer”, February 2018, p. 10, https://www.eurobserv-er.org/wind-energy-barometer-2018.65
  66. Generation from wind energy was 100.164 TWh onshore and 25.123 TWh offshore, accounting for 18.2% and 4.6% respectively of Germany's gross electricity consumption, from Geschäftsstelle der Arbeitsgruppe Erneuerbare Energien-Statistik (AGEE-Stat) and Umweltbundesamt, “Erneuerbare Energien in Deutschland Daten zur Entwicklung im Jahr 2022”, February 2023, pp. 9, 19, https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/erneuerbare-energien-in-deutschland-2022. Germany's generation from wind energy in 2021 was 114.6 TWh, from idem. Generation in 2022 was down relative to 2019 and 2020, from Umweltbundesamt, “Erneuerbare Energien in Zahlen”, March 17, 2023, https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/klima-energie/erneuerbare-energien/erneuerbare-energien-in-zahlen#uberblick, viewed April 3, 2023; and this relative decline was due to low wind speeds for much of the year, from G. Maguire, “Column: Wind set to ease Germany's power crunch, for now”, Reuters, December 13, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/wind-set-ease-germanys-power-crunch-now-2022-12-13.66
  67. G. Rajgor, “Onshore wind breakthrough as Germany green lights 10GW a year from 2025”, Windpower Monthly, July 11, 2022, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1792723/onshore-wind-breakthrough-germany-green-lights-10gw-year-2025. The new law aims to double onshore capacity to 115 GW by 2030, calls on German states to set aside 2% of land for onshore wind, and sets offshore targets of 30 GW in operation by 2030, 40 GW by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045), from idem. Also see DW, “Germany presents new Ukraine-accelerated renewables plan”, April 6, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/germany-presents-new-ukraine-accelerated-renewables-plan/a-61383714. 67
  68. Undersubscribed from Saul, Mathis and Morison, op. cit. note 10. During 2022, 3.2 GW of onshore capacity was secured from a total available capacity of 4.6 GW, through technology-specific auctions in Germany with feed-in premiums, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 24, 26. The German levy would take 90% of wind (and solar) power profits above EUR 130/MWh, or above a benchmark based on the FIT assigned to a specific project, from N. Ford, “Germany's windfall tax curtails short-term wind growth”, Reuters, December 14, 2022, https://www.reutersevents.com/renewables/wind/germanys-windfall-tax-curtails-short-term-wind-growth. Also see Reuters Events, “EU caps wind revenues above costs but national limits could bite”, October 5, 2022, https://www.reutersevents.com/renewables/wind/eu-caps-wind-revenues-above-costs-national-limits-could-bite. 68
  69. Saul, Mathis and Morison, op. cit. note 10.69
  70. Finland added 2,430 MW, all onshore, for a year-end total of 5,678 MW (including 5,607 MW onshore and the rest offshore), from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 14; rankings based on data from idem, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. Finland added 2,421 MW for a total of 5,677 MW, from WWEA, op. cit. note 1.70
  71. Increase over 2021 based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1; 5.7 GW from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 14; net zero and invasion from Symons, op. cit. note 7.71
  72. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 10.72
  73. Ibid., pp. 10, 14. Record also based on historical data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.73
  74. France added 1,590 MW onshore and 480 MW offshore for a year-end total of 21,135 MW (including 20,653 MW onshore and 482 MW offshore), WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 14. France added 1,516 MW for a total of 20,600 MW, from WWEA, op. cit. note 1.74
  75. Based on data from ENTSO-E, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 19.75
  76. Based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 10, and on historical data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. Sweden added 2,054 MW for a total of 14,227 MW, from WWEA, op. cit. note 1, and from A. Wickmann, Swedish Wind Power Association, in WWEA, op. cit. note 11.76
  77. Rankings based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.77
  78. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 38.78
  79. F. Jones, “Sweden sets new record for wind energy”, Power Technology, March 29, 2023, https://www.power-technology.com/news/sweden-wind-energy-record. Sweden's wind generation in 2022 was about 33,000 GWh (up from about 27,100 GWh in 2021), and wind energy accounts for about one-third of the country's electricity generation, or about the same share as hydro- and nuclear power, from A. Wickmann, Swedish Wind Power Association, in WWEA, op. cit. note 11.79
  80. Based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 11, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. 80
  81. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. In 2022, the United Kingdom added 1,682 MW, of which 502 MW was onshore and 1,179 MW was offshore, and decommissioned 1 MW; this is up from 2021 additions of 328 MW onshore (and 2.9 MW decommissioned) and down from 2,316.5 MW offshore, totaling 2,641.6 MW net. The end-2022 total was 28,292.8 MW (including 14,574.9 MW onshore and 13,917.9 MW offshore), all from GWEC, op. cit. this note. The United Kingdom added 2,339 MW for a total of 28,087 MW, from WWEA, op. cit. note 1. The decline in offshore capacity brought online was due to the gap between execution of projects under rounds 2 and 3 of the UK Contracts for Difference, from Zhao, op. cit. note 6. In addition, offshore wind is more cyclical than onshore, with fewer but larger projects, resulting in fluctuations in installations, from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1, May 3, 2023.81
  82. BBC News, “Onshore wind rules to be relaxed after Tory revolt”, December 6, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63880999; A. Lee, “UK wind power breaks records in 2022 as pressure grows to lift onshore ban”, REcharge, January 6, 2023, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/uk-wind-power-breaks-records-in-2022-as-pressure-grows-to-lift-onshore-ban/2-1-1384290. 82
  83. Based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 11, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. In 2022, the United Kingdom added 1,682 MW, of which 502 MW was onshore and 1,179 MW was offshore, and decommissioned 1 MW; this is up from 2021 additions of 328 MW onshore (and 2.9 MW decommissioned) and 2,316.5 MW offshore, totalling 2,641.6 MW net. The end-2022 total was 14,574.9 MW onshore and 13,917.9 MW offshore, all from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.83
  84. W. Mathis, “The UK produced a record amount of wind power in 2022, easing gas crisis”, Bloomberg, December 22, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-22/record-wind-power-spares-uk-even-worse-energy-crisis. 84
  85. Spain added 1,659 MW in 2022, up from 750 MW in 2021, for an end-2022 total of 29,803 MW (all onshore except for 10 MW offshore), from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 14, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. Spain added 1,670 MW for a total of 29,813 MW, from WWEA, op. cit. note 1.85
  86. Costanzo, op. cit. note 1, May 3, 2023.86
  87. Preliminary estimates from Red Eléctrica, “La eólica y la fotovoltaica baten récord de generación eléctrica en España en 2022”, December 22, 2022, https://www.ree.es/sites/default/files/paragraph/2022/12/file/Sistema_Electrico_Pevision_2022.pdf (using Google Translate).87
  88. Ember, “European Electricity Review 2023”, January 31, 2023, p. 53. 88
  89. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 9, 18, 34. For all of Europe, output in 2022 was up over 2021 due to better wind conditions, especially in northern regions and strong installations in some countries; by country, output was up except in Estonia, Hungary, Italy, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Spain, all of which generated more electricity from the wind in 2021 than in 2022. Wind energy's share of demand also rose in Europe because demand was down due to high electricity prices and government measures to reduce demand in response to the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. All from idem, pp. 18, 20. Electricity generation from wind energy across the EU and United Kingdom has increased from 370 TWh in 2018 to 489 TWh in 2022, while electricity demand has fallen (from 2,960 TWh in 2018 to 2,830 TWh in 2022) due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The one anomalous year was 2021, when generation fell relative to 2020, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 34. Note that wind energy generated an estimated 420 TWh, or 15%, of EU electricity during 2022, and Lithuania met 38% of its demand with wind energy, from Ember, op. cit. note 88, p. 50. 89
  90. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 9, 19. Note that WindEurope data for national shares of electricity mix in each country represent the average of the share of wind in final electricity demand, captured hourly from ENTSO-E and corrected with data from national transmission system operators and governments, from idem, p. 19. Note that share of wind energy in Britain's electricity mix was 26.8% in 2022, up from 21.8% in 2021, from National Grid, cited in S. Twidale, “Britain produced record amount of wind power in 2022, National Grid says”, January 6, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/britain-produced-record-amount-wind-power-2022-national-grid-2023-01-06. 90
  91. Germany ended the year with 66,322 MW, followed by Spain (29,798 MW), the United Kingdom (28,493 MW), France (21,135 MW) and Sweden (14,198 MW), based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1.91
  92. Based on total combined capacity in top five countries of 159,946 MW and total regional capacity of 242,432 MW, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1.92
  93. Based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.93
  94. India added 1,458.6 MW in 2021 and added 1,847 MW in 2022 for a total of 41,929.8 MW, all onshore, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. Note that India added 1,846.71 MW in 2021 based on the country's year-end 2020 total of 40,083 MW, from Government of India, Ministry of Power, “Power Sector at a Glance ALL INDIA”, February 11, 2022, https://powermin.gov.in/en/content/power-sector-glance-all-india, and on year-end 2020 total of 40,082.7 MW from Government of India, Ministry of New and Renewable Resources (MNRE), cited in Central Electricity Authority, “All India installed capacity (in MW) of power stations (as on 31.12.2021)”, https://cea.nic.in/wp-content/uploads/installed/2021/12/installed_capacity.pdf. Note that India added 2,183 MW in 2022 for a total of 41,983 MW, from WWEA, op. cit. note 1. Almost 10 GW of wind power capacity has been added since auctions were initiated in 2017, from J. Hossain, WWEA, India, in WWEA, op. cit. note 11. India's reverse bidding policy was halted in 2022; it was considered a reason for the decline in installations because aggressive bidding encouraged by the policy made projects unviable for developers, from G. Mishra, “India's wind installations increased 8% YoY to 229 MW in Q4 2022”, January 23, 2023, https://mercomindia.com//india-wind-installations-increased-8-yoy-q4-2022. The decline in installations was driven primarily by the cancellation of projects that became unviable as a result of high inflation and delays resulting from lack of grid availability and timeline extensions in scheduled commissioning dates, from Zhao, op. cit. note 6.94
  95. A. Joshi, “India missed 2022 renewables target as rooftop solar and wind fell short”, Mercom India, March 24, 2023, https://www.mercomindia.com/india-missed-2022-renewables-target. 95
  96. Offshore installations were 8,771 MW for an end-2022 total of 64,320 MW, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 92, 95, 102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.96
  97. Based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 92, 102, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1, WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11, and from Costanzo, op. cit. note 1.97
  98. Global additions in 2021 amounted to nearly 21.5 GW, with 16.9 GW of that capacity installed in China alone, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 92, 102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. 98
  99. Figure of 58% based on global 2022 installations of 8,771 MW and installations in China of 5,052 MW; the rest was installed in the United Kingdom (added 1,179 MW), Chinese Taipei (1,175 MW), France (480 MW), the Netherlands (369 MW), Germany (342 MW), Japan (84 MW), Norway (60 MW) and Italy (30 MW), all from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. 99
  100. China added 5,052 MW, followed in the region by Chinese Taipei (1,175 MW) and Japan (84 MW), from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1,p. 102, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1. First to achieve commercial operations in Chinese Taipei from C. Hsu, “Offshore wind power leaping forward: officials”, Taipei Times, October 18, 2022, https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2022/10/18/2003787220. Snapshot Japan based on the following sources: M. Lewis, “Japan's First Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farm Just Came Online”, Electrek, December 27, 2022, https://electrek.co/2022/12/27/japan-first-large-scale-offshore-wind-farm; A. Memija, “Japan's First Commercial-Scale Offshore Wind Farm Fully Up and Running”, Offshore Wind, January 31, 2023, https://www.offshorewind.biz/2023/01/31/japans-first-commercial-scale-offshore-wind-farm-fully-up-and-running; Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, “Japan's Roadmap to ‘Beyond-Zero' Carbon”, https://www.meti.go.jp/english/policy/energy_environment/global_warming/roadmap/index.html, accessed April 28, 2023; EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, “Japanese Government Announces Results for First Large-Scale Offshore Windpark Auctions”, December 24, 2021, https://www.eu-japan.eu/news/japanese-government-announces-results-first-large-scale-offshore-windpark-auctions; Infolink, “Market Analysis: Japan to Reach 10 GW Offshore Wind Capacity by 2030”, November 17, 2021, https://www.infolink-group.com/energy-article/Market-analysis-Japan-to-reach-10-GW-offshore-wind-capacity-by-2030; Japan Wind Development Co. Ltd., “Concluded a cooperation agreement with Akita University regarding local contribution and human resource development through offshore wind power generation business”, February 9, 2023, https://www.jwd.co.jp/info (using Google Translate); Akita Prefecture, “FY2020 Akita Prefecture Wind Power Generation Related Industry Entry Support Project Subsidy Announcement of Recruitment of Eligible Projects”, April 5, 2023, https://www.pref.akita.lg.jp/pages/archive/71956 (using Google Translate); Kahoku, “Offshore wind power will create 37,000 jobs. Akita Prefecture estimate economic effect is 382 billion yen”, March 9, 2022, https://kahoku.news/articles/20220308khn000025.html (using Google Translate).100
  101. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 8, 95, and from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 7. Rush to commission in 2021 also from F. Guo, CWEA, in WWEA, op. cit. note 11, and from N. Weekes, “Bumper Year-End for Chinese Offshore Wind as Feed-in Tariff Expires”, Windpower Monthly, January 5, 2022, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1736674/bumper-year-end-chinese-offshore-wind-feed-in-tariff-expires. Pandemic-related restrictions from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, pp. 52, 106; other sources blame the end of government subsidies for the decline offshore. For example, see Ng, op. cit. note 33. Provincial-level subsidies (although small compared to the expired federal incentives) may have played a role in ongoing development in 2022, from B. Lepic, “Chinese offshore wind capacity boom driven by state subsidies”, Rigzone, November 23, 2022, https://www.rigzone.com/news/chinese_offshore_wind_capacity_boom_driven_by_state_subsidies-23-nov-2022-171136-article. 101
  102. Global Times, “China's largest unsubsidized offshore wind power project completed”, December 21, 2022, https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202212/1282301.shtml. 102
  103. GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 102; GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.103
  104. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 10, 11; lowest since 2016 from WindEurope, “Offshore Wind Energy 2022 Statistics”, March 2023, p. 4. 104
  105. The United Kingdom added 1,179 MW in 2022, from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 13. The UK commissioned 924 MW at Hornsea Two in 2022; the total project is 1,386 MW, from idem, p. 18.105
  106. J. Timperley, “Floating offshore wind prepares to go commercial”, Energy Monitor, May 16, 2022, https://www.energymonitor.ai/tech/renewables/floating-offshore-wind-prepares-to-go-commercial; The Crown Estate, “Government approves 8GW of offshore wind in major milestone for renewable energy”, July 19, 2022, https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/media-and-insights/news/2022-government-approves-8gw-of-offshore-wind-in-major-milestone-for-renewable-energy; floating wind can triple the size from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2021”, 2021, p. 6, https://gwec.net/global-offshore-wind-report-2021. 106
  107. France from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 14. This was the 480 MW Saint Nazaire project, from idem; The Netherlands from A. Durakovic, “Subsidy-Free Offshore Wind Power Starts Flowing into Dutch Grid”, Offshore Wind Biz, August 2, 2022, https://www.offshorewind.biz/2022/08/02/subsidy-free-offshore-wind-power-starts-flowing-into-dutch-grid; Norway from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 9. The Hywind Tampen project produced its first power in 2022, from A. Frangoul, “The ‘world's largest floating wind farm' produces its first power”, CNBC, November 14, 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/14/the-worlds-largest-floating-wind-farm-produces-its-first-power.html. When completed, it will be the world largest floating offshore wind project, from WindEurope, “Offshore Wind Energy 2022 Statistics”, op. cit. note 104, p. 47. It was not completed in 2022 due to supply chain issues, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 95; Italy from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 13, and from Maritime Executive, “Italy Inaugurates the First Offshore Wind Farm in the Mediterranean”, April 25, 2022, https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/italy-inaugurates-the-first-offshore-wind-farm-in-the-mediterranean. New offshore capacities commissioned in 2022 totaled 1,179 MW in the United Kingdom, followed by France (480 MW), the Netherlands (369 MW), Germany (342 MW), Norway (60 MW) and Italy (30 MW), from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1. 107
  108. Germany added 342 MW in 2022, following a year in which no new offshore capacity came online, based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 10, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.108
  109. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 10-11, 14; WindEurope, “Offshore Wind Energy 2022 Statistics”, op. cit. note 104, pp. 4, 10. 109
  110. WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, pp. 51, 53; WindEurope, “Offshore Wind Energy 2022 Statistics”, op. cit. note 104, p. 40. UK floating wind target was increased in 10 GW in 2022, from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 3. For more on offshore wind targets in Europe and developments in 2022, see, for example: Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, “Netherlands targets 70 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2050”, September 19, 2022, https://ieefa.org/articles/netherlands-targets-70-gigawatts-offshore-wind-energy-2050; REnews, “North Sea countries set 260GW offshore wind target North Sea countries set 260GW offshore wind target”, September 12, 2022, https://renews.biz/80395/north-sea-countries-set-260gw-offshore-wind-target; A. Fine, “New Greek Law Focuses on Reaching 2 GW of Offshore Wind Development by 2030”, North American Windpower, August 4, 2022, https://nawindpower.com/new-greek-law-focuses-on-reaching-2-gw-of-offshore-wind-development-by-2030; Maritime Executive, “Sweden targets 120 TWh from accelerated offshore wind farm development”, February 15, 2022, https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/sweden-targets-120-twh-from-accelerated-offshore-wind-farm-development. 110
  111. WindEurope, “Offshore Wind Energy 2022 Statistics”, op. cit. note 104, pp. 4, 35. Not one project reached final investment decision in 2022, from WindEurope, “The EU built only 16 GW new wind in 2022: must restore investor confidence and ramp up supply chain”, February 28, 2023, https://windeurope.org/newsroom/press-releases/the-eu-built-only-16-gw-new-wind-in-2022-must-restore-investor-confidence-and-ramp-up-supply-chain. 111
  112. reNEWS Biz, “US offshore wind demand doubles in 2022”, February 21, 2023, https://renews.biz/83969/us-offshore-wind-demand-doubles-in-2022; R. Davidson, “US ‘tripled offshore wind investment' to $10bn in 2022”, Windpower Monthly, February 22, 2023, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1814179/us-tripled-offshore-wind-investment-10bn-2022. This included USD 4.4 billion for port infrastructure, supply chain development and transmission infrastructure, from reNEWS Biz, op. cit. this note.112
  113. More than 13 GW, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 96. Also see: R. Davidson, “Rhode Island utility issues RfP for up to 1GW offshore wind”, Windpower Monthly, October 17, 2022, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1802233/rhode-island-utility-issues-rfp-1gw-offshore-wind; Renewable Energy World, “The 5 clean energy stories that defined 2022”, December 28, 2022, https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/solar/the-5-clean-energy-stories-that-defined-2022; D. Kovaleski, “New York Bight offshore wind sale nets largest haul in U.S. history”, Daily Energy Insider, March 1, 2022, https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/34036-new-york-bight-offshore-wind-sale-nets-largest-haul-in-u-s-history; A. Fine, “BNOW: U.S. Offshore Wind Industry Finished 2022 on a Strong Note”, North American Wind Power, January 12, 2023, https://nawindpower.com/bnow-reports-u-s-offshore-wind-industry-finished-2022-on-a-strong-note. In addition, the US government designated areas for offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico, from OE Digital, “U.S. Designates Offshore Wind Farm Development Areas in Gulf of Mexico”, October 31, 2022, https://www.oedigital.com/news/500593-u-s-designates-offshore-wind-farm-development-areas-in-gulf-of-mexico. 113
  114. ACP, op. cit. note 1, pp. 5, 16. The advanced development pipeline at end-2022 was 16,696 MW, and the first commercial-scale project (806 MW Vineyard Wind) began installing offshore cabling during the year, from idem.114
  115. ACP, op. cit. note 1, p. 29. States included California (25 GW), New Jersey (11 GW), New York (9 GW), North Carolina (8 GW), Massachusetts (5.6 GW), Virginia (5.2 GW), Louisiana (5 GW), Connecticut (2.3 GW), Maryland (1.6 GW) and Rhode Island (1.4 GW), from idem. US offshore official targets increased 79% in 2022, due to a California target (25 GW), Louisiana, New Jersey and Rhode Island all announcing new state level goals, from REnews Biz, op. cit. note 112. California also has floating wind power targets of 3 GW by 2030, 15 GW by 2045, and possibly 20 GW by 2050, from reNEWS Biz, “California sets 3GW floater goal for 2030”, May 9, 2022, https://renews.biz/77679/california-sets-3gw-floater-goal-for-2030. In addition to state procurement targets, the Biden administration targets having 30 GW offshore wind online in the United States by 2030, from H.J. Mai, “Biden's offshore wind plan could create thousands of jobs but challenges remain”, Oregon Public Broadcasting, January 24, 2023, https://www.opb.org/article/2023/01/24/offshore-wind-energy-jobs-biden; on top of this target, the Administration targets 15 GW of floating wind capacity by 2035, from A. Frangoul, “The U.S. looks to rival Europe and Asia with massive floating offshore wind plan”, CNBC, September 16, 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/16/the-us-looks-to-rival-europe-and-asia-with-massive-floating-offshore-wind-plan.html. 115
  116. Figure of 16 governments from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 70. Governments with new or increased targets were the Republic of Korea, China, Victoria (Australia), Nova Scotia (Canada), Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, New Jersey and Louisiana (United States), from idem. Nova Scotia set a target to offer leases for 5 GW of offshore wind power by 2030 to address climate change and create local jobs, from A. Fine, “Nova Scotia Sets Offshore Wind Lease Goal of 5 GW”, North American Windpower, September 22, 2022, https://nawindpower.com/nova-scotia-sets-offshore-wind-lease-goal-of-5-gw. Australia's Victoria State set a target of 9 GW by 2030, from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 3. The Philippines set a target for 21 GW offshore by 2040, from Pinsent Masons, “Philippines targets 21GW offshore wind by 2040”, April 29, 2022, https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/philippines-targets-21gw-offshore-wind-by-2040. Global targets approaching 380 GW from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 4.116
  117. Australia from B. Symons, “Federal government declares Australia's first six offshore wind energy zones”, ABC Gippsland, August 5, 2022, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-05/offshore-windfarms-climate-renewable-energy-turbines/101303944; India from reNEWS Biz, “India unveils 4GW offshore wind tender plan”, November 15, 2022, https://renews.biz/81829/india-unveils-4gw-offshore-wind-tender-plan, and from Mercom India, “Bids for 12 GW of Offshore Wind Energy to be Issued in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat in Three Years”, June 10, 2022, https://mercomindia.com/bids-for-12-gw-of-offshore-wind-energy; Brazil from E. Gannoum, President of ABEEólica, Forward, in GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 5, and from reve, “Abeeólica: Brazil will enter 2023 with regulated offshore wind energy”, February 17, 2023, https://www.evwind.es/2023/02/17/abeeolica-brazil-will-enter-2023-with-regulated-offshore-wind-energy/90271. As of mid-2022, Brazil had a pipeline of 97.4 GW of offshore capacity under development, from C. Richard, “Corio Generation unveils 5GW offshore wind pipeline off Brazil”, Windpower Monthly, June 13, 2022, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1789527/corio-generation-unveils-5gw-offshore-wind-pipeline-off-brazil. In Australia, construction started in 2022 on the MacIntyre Wind Precinct (1,026 MW), which was expected to come online in 2024, from M. Lewis, “Construction officially starts on the largest wind farm in Australia”, Electrek, June 2, 2022, https://electrek.co/2022/06/02/largest-wind-farm-in-australia. And yet, Australia's Star of the South (2.2 GW) was still on track to become the country's first operating offshore wind farm, with the first power expected in 2028, from A. Durakovic, “Australia Putting Wind Projects Offshore Victoria on Fast Track”, Offshore Wind Biz, October 21, 2022, https://www.offshorewind.biz/2022/10/21/australia-putting-wind-projects-offshore-victoria-on-fast-track. 117
  118. Global offshore pipeline from renewableUK, “UK offshore wind pipeline reaches nearly 100 gigawatts – while global pipeline hits over 1,100GW”, February 15, 2023, https://www.renewableuk.com/news/632004/UK-offshore-wind-pipeline-reaches-nearly-100-gigawatts---while-global-pipeline-hits-over-1100GW-.htm; floating wind from GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 96.118
  119. Total of 19 in 2022 includes China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and Vietnam in Asia; Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Norway and Finland in Europe; and the United States. Same countries in 2021 except for Italy; also, note that France had only 2 MW of capacity and Norway only 5.9 MW at the end of 2021. All based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 10-11, 14, from WindEurope, “Offshore Wind Energy 2022 Statistics”, op. cit. note 104, pp. 4, 10, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.119
  120. Based on data from WindEurope, op. cit. note 1, p. 10-11, 14, from WindEurope, “Offshore Wind Energy 2022 Statistics”, op. cit. note 104, pp. 4, 10, and from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 2023, op. cit. note 1.120
  121. Shares at the end of 2022 and 2021 based on data from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 102. At the end of 2021, Europe had slightly more than 50% of global installed offshore wind power capacity; this fell to just over 47% in 2022, based on data from idem. 121
  122. GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 14.122
  123. Challenges associated with scaling up from T. Casey, “Wooden towers to help cut the cost of wind turbines, even more”, CleanTechnica, May 31, 2022, https://cleantechnica.com/2022/05/31/wooden-towers-to-help-cut-the-cost-of-wind-turbines-even-more; I. Griggs, “Firms to produce wooden turbine blades to give wind industry ‘sustainable future'”, Windpower Monthly, November 15, 2022, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1805271/firms-produce-wooden-turbine-blades-give-wind-industry-sustainable-future; T. Casey, “No more excuses: spiral welding can bring taller wind turbines to US southeast”, CleanTechnica, May 16, 2022, https://cleantechnica.com/2022/05/16/no-more-excuses-spiral-welding-can-bring-taller-wind-turbines-to-us-southeast; H. Everett, “New GE facility focuses on R&D of 3D printed wind turbine towers”, 3D Printing Industry, April 25, 2022, https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/new-ge-facility-focuses-on-rd-of-3d-printed-wind-turbine-towers-208125; T. Casey, “Taller wind turbines to get TLC from 3D printing”, CleanTechnica, April 21, 2022, https://cleantechnica.com/2022/04/21/taller-wind-turbines-to-get-tlc-from-3d-printing; C. Richard and I. Griggs, “2022: Innovations that could shape the wind industry”, Windpower Monthly, December 22, 2022, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1808918/2022-innovations-shape-wind-industry. For offshore, see also, for example, GWEC, “Global Offshore Wind Report 2022”, op. cit. note 5, p. 14. For China specifically, see, for example: D. Snieckus, “'New global milestone' | China's CSSC Haizhuang rolls out world's largest wind turbine”, REcharge News, January 9, 2023, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/new-global-milestone-chinas-cssc-haizhuang-rolls-out-worlds-largest-wind-turbine/2-1-1384424. Also, see sources for information provided in endnotes below.123
  124. Reddie & Grose, cited in M. Ahmad, “China leads global increase in wind power generation patents”, Energy Digital, January 18, 2023, https://energydigital.com/renewable-energy/china-leads-global-increase-in-wind-power-generation-patents. Over the past decade, Chinese firms have filed for far more patents than have those in any other region; Chinese firms accounted for 23,737 patent filings, followed by Europe (16,396), the United States (16,074), the Republic of Korea (6,611) and Japan (3,809), from idem.124
  125. See, for example, US Department of Energy (US DOE), “Land-Based Wind Market Report: 2022 Edition”, August 2022, p. viii, https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-08/land_based_wind_market_report_2202.pdf, and Lepic, op. cit. note 101; M. Lewis, “GE is developing a massive 18 MW offshore wind turbine”, Electrek, March 13, 2023, https://electrek.co/2023/03/13/ge-is-developing-a-massive-18-mw-offshore-wind-turbine. Benefits of Larger, higher-efficiency turbines from, for example, B. Backwell, GWEC, “Taking offshore wind global”, March 4, 2020, slide 10, https://www.renewable-ei.org/pdfdownload/activities/11_BenBackwell.pdf; US DOE, “Land-Based Wind Market Report…”, op. cit. this note, p. 43; US DOE, “Wind turbines: the bigger, the better”, August 16, 2022, https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/wind-turbines-bigger-better.125
  126. Preliminary data from GWEC, “Global Wind Market Development: Supply Side Data 2022”, p. 25, unpublished document, provided by Zhao, op. cit. note 6.126
  127. Ibid. The regions with the largest average turbine sizes were Latin America (4,482 MW), followed by Asia Pacific (4,343 MW), with both regions passing Europe (4,313 MW); the region with the lowest average was North America (3,140 MW), from idem, p. 26.127
  128. Zaremba, op. cit. note 12.128
  129. A. Frangoul, “Vestas launches ‘world's tallest onshore tower for wind turbines'”, CNBC, September 29, 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/29/vestas-launches-worlds-tallest-onshore-tower-for-wind-turbines.html; M. Lewis, “GE is developing a massive 18 MW offshore wind turbine”, Electrek, March 13, 2023, https://electrek.co/2023/03/13/ge-is-developing-a-massive-18-mw-offshore-wind-turbine. 129
  130. Pressures to innovate from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 54. See also Snieckus, op. cit. note 123.130
  131. Onshore, MingYang's 8.5 MW turbine, from A. Lee, “China raises wind power stakes again as ‘world's biggest onshore turbine' busts 8MW”, REcharge News, January 4, 2023, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/china-raises-wind-power-stakes-again-as-worlds-biggest-onshore-turbine-busts-8mw/2-1-1383010; it was quickly surpassed by Envison Energy (10 MW), from J.S. Hill, “World's largest onshore wind turbine, and the first to reach 10MW, debuts in China”, RenewEconomy, February 14, 2023, https://reneweconomy.com.au/worlds-largest-onshore-wind-turbine-and-the-first-to-reach-10mw-debuts-in-china; two weeks later, SANY's 11 MW prototype was rolled out, from GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 54. Offshore, China's Three Gorges Corporation and Xinjiang Goldwind produced the world's first 16-MW turbine in late 2022, from Xinhua, “World's largest offshore wind turbine off assembly line in China”, November 23, 2022, https://english.news.cn/20221123/89eea57690ea4d4083ee365e0d1af2cf/c.html; Goldwind announced the production of a 13.6 MW turbine with a record 252-metre rotor diameter, from M. Lewis, “China debuts an offshore wind turbine with the world's largest rotor diameter”, Electrek, October 17, 2022, https://electrek.co/2022/10/17/offshore-wind-turbine-worlds-largest-rotor-diameter; also in late 2022, China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) Haizhuang began marketing a turbine with an 18 GW rating, from Snieckus, op. cit. note 123; Windpower Monthly, “The world's largest and most powerful offshore wind turbine unveiled – and more”, March 7, 2023, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1815513/worlds-largest-powerful-offshore-wind-turbine-unveiled--; and MingYang unveiled an 18 MW turbine in early 2023, from Bloomberg, “China Clean Energy Giants Unveil World's Largest Wind Turbines”, January 10, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-11/china-clean-energy-giants-unveil-world-s-largest-wind-turbines. See also D. Proctor, “New 18-MW Model Takes Over as World's Largest Offshore Wind Turbine”, Power Magazine, January 6, 2023, https://www.powermag.com/new-18-mw-model-takes-over-as-worlds-largest-offshore-wind-turbine. 131
  132. Little opportunity to learn from H. Richards, “Offshore wind turbines are growing larger. How big is too big?” EE News, March 2, 2023, https://www.eenews.net/articles/offshore-wind-turbines-are-growing-larger-how-big-is-too-big; R. Beene and J. Saul, “Wind Turbines Taller Than the Statue of Liberty Are Falling Over”, Bloomberg, January 23, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-23/wind-turbine-collapses-punctuate-green-power-growing-pains; R. Morison, “Wind turbines are big enough for now, Vestas CEO says”, Bloomberg, January 16, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-16/wind-turbines-are-big-enough-for-now-vestas-ceo-says. Permitting challenges from A. Lee, “China raises wind power stakes again as ‘world's biggest onshore turbine' busts 8MW”, REcharge News, January 4, 2023, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/china-raises-wind-power-stakes-again-as-worlds-biggest-onshore-turbine-busts-8mw/2-1-1383010. See also Hill, op. cit. note 131. For the offshore sector, the trend could discourage investment in new installation vessels that might be too small once completed, from Richards, op. cit. this note.132
  133. Morison, op. cit. note 132; Mathis, Beene and Saul, op. cit. note 10; Beene and Saul, op. cit. note 132. Chinese manufacturers also are focusing on reducing manufacturing costs and expecting smaller profits due to grid parity conditions, from Lepic, op. cit. note 101. 133
  134. L.M. Lombrana and T. Gualtieri, “Making Wind Turbines Greener Could Also Make Them More Expensive”, Bloomberg, November 2, 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-11/making-wind-turbines-greener-could-also-make-them-more-expensive; Dyrholm in GWEC, “Global Wind Report 2023”, March 27, 2023, op. cit. note 1, p. 2. See also Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy, https://sustainable-energy.eco, accessed April 12, 2023, and Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy, “Reducing Raw Materials' Environmental and Social impacts in Electrical Energy Technologies”, Circular Design Criteria Working Group Position Paper, undated, https://energycentral.com/c/enelfoundation/global-alliance-sustainable-energy-%E2%80%93-position-paper-release. 134
  135. See, for example, the following: GE, “Environmental, social and governance: Sustainability at core”, https://www.ge.com/sustainability, accessed April 12, 2023; Vestas, “Our sustainability strategy: Sustainability in everything we do”, https://www.vestas.com/en/sustainability/sustainability-strategy, accessed April 12, 2023; Siemens Gamesa, “Siemens Gamesa puts decarbonization, recyclability and technological education at heart of ambitious new sustainability strategy”, July 21, 2021, https://www.siemensgamesa.com/newsroom/2021/07/210721-siemens-gamesa-press-release-launches-new-sustainability-strategy; Nordex Acciona Windpower, “Sustainability report published”, April 6, 2023, https://www.nordex-online.com/en/2023/04/sustainability-report-2022-published; reve, “Goldwind releases its 2021 sustainability report”, May 10, 2022, https://www.evwind.es/2022/05/10/goldwind-releases-its-2021-sustainability-report/86034. 135
  136. American Chemical Society, “Wind turbine blades could someday be recycled into sweet treats”, Science Daily, August 23, 2022, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220823095518.htm. 136
  137. For examples of recycling from traditional materials, see the following: M. Gallucci, “Vestas has a new way to keep wind turbine blades out of the dump”, Canary Media, February 16, 2023, https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/wind/vestas-has-a-new-way-to-keep-wind-turbine-blades-out-of-the-dump; M. Lewis, “This company turns wind turbine blades into concrete”, Electrek, January 12, 2023, https://electrek.co/2023/01/12/this-company-turns-wind-turbine-blades-into-concrete; Goldwind, “Goldwind recycles turbine blades into 3D printing materials”, July 28, 2022, https://www.goldwind.com/en/news/focus-article/?id=737300515733524480; A. Lee, “'Golden ratio' | China's Goldwind claims breakthrough using old turbine blades for 3D printing”, REcharge, July 28, 2022, https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/golden-ratio-chinas-goldwind-claims-breakthrough-using-old-turbine-blades-for-3d-printing/2-1-1267998; A. Frangoul, “GE, Orsted and now Iberdrola: The competition to recycle wind turbine blades heats up”, CNBC, June 6, 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/06/iberdrola-sets-up-firm-focused-on-recycling-wind-turbine-blades.html; Richard and Griggs, op. cit. note 123. For examples of new materials, see also: idem; N. Weekes, “LM Wind Power launches fully recyclable thermoplastic wind turbine blade”, Windpower Monthly, March 17, 2022, https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1749931/lm-wind-power-launches-fully-recyclable-thermoplastic-wind-turbine-blade, A. Paleja, “The world's first turbine with recyclable blades is now operational”, Interesting Engineering, August 3, 2022, https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/the-worlds-first-turbine-with-recyclable-blades-is-now-operational; Griggs, op. cit. note 123.137