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Wind installations soar to new records as 99 GW added globally in 2021
30/3/2022
News
The global commissioning of wind turbines reached 99.2 GW in capacity in 2021, beating the previous record of 98.5 GW set in 2020, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF).
BNEF’s 2021 Global wind turbine market shares report finds that 83% of the new turbines were built on land but new additions of offshore turbines surged to 16.8 GW, a 161% year-on-year increase.
These figures were taken from BNEF’s global database of wind projects and information gathered from the industry.
BNEF reports that 55.8 GW of new wind capacity was commissioned in China last year, predominantly offshore. This was just 2 GW below the annual record set in 2020, despite global commodities inflation and disruption to supply chains.
The second largest market for new wind projects was the US, bringing 13 GW online in 2021. Combined with China, the two countries accounted for two-thirds of new wind capacity in that year.
Third on the list of global wind markets was Vietnam, adding 3.6 GW of onshore and near-shore wind farms.
Among turbine manufacturers, Vestas added the most wind generation last year, with 15.2 GW built worldwide; with Goldwind second, at 12 GW. GE, the leading turbine maker in 2020, dropped to fifth place in 2021 with 8.3 GW installed due to a 22% reduction in installations in the US.
‘A new era of wind build is truly under way – a second near-100 GW year represents a new status quo for the industry. As governments worldwide set net zero ambitions targeting wind build several multiples higher than today, the wind industry has proved it can deliver sustained growth.’ says Isabelle Edwards, Senior Analyst at BloombergNEF and lead author of the report.
