Page 6 - AsiaElec Week 14 2022

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Wind growth needs

to quadruple to

meet net-zero goals

GLOBAL. THE global wind industry posted its second-best century energy systems based on renewables,”
year ever in 2021, posting 12% growth and add- said GWEC CEO Ben Backwell.
ing 93.6 GW of new capacity onshore and off- The report also found that auctioned capacity
shore, bringing the global fleet to 837 GW. was up 153%, with 88 GW awarded globally, of
Slight dips in new building onshore in China which 69 GW (78%) was onshore and 19 GW
and the US compared to 2020 meant that addi- (22%) was offshore.
tions were 1.8% less than in 2020, the Global
Wind Energy Council (GWEC) said in its Global Wake-up call
Wind Report 2022. Looking ahead, it forecast that the compound
The report branded current energy market annualised growth rate (CAGR) for wind instal-
structures “perverse,” and called for wholesale lations for the next five years was 6.6%, which
reforms by governments worldwide to support equates to 557 GW of forecast installations from
renewables energy in order to stand any chance 2022-2026. This means that wind is way behind
of meeting net-zero goals by 2050. what net zero demands, as at current rates of
Despite the second year of the coronavirus installation, the report forecast that by 2030 the
(COVID-19) pandemic, the global wind indus- world will have less than two-thirds of the wind
try continued to show resilience and maintain energy capacity required for a 1.5°C and net-zero
growth across the vast majority of markets. pathway, putting climate goals in danger.
Onshore, Europe (+19%), Latin America The report called for more supportive poli-
(+27%) and Africa & Middle East (+120%) cies from governments and the international
had record years for new installations, but total community.
onshore wind installations in 2021 were still 18% “Decisively addressing issues such as permit-
lower than the previous year, dragged down ting and planning will unlock economic growth
slower growth in China (+30.7 GW) and the US and create millions of jobs by letting investment
(+12.7GW), the world’s two largest wind power flow, while allowing rapid progress on our cli-
markets. mate goals. If we carry on with “business as
By contrast, offshore had its best year ever, usual”, however, we will miss this unique window
with 21.1 GW of offshore capacity commis- of opportunity,” Backwell said.
sioned, three times more than in 2020. China The emerging issues of energy security and
accounted for 80% of new capacity, helping it volatile prices, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion
overtake the UK as the world’s largest offshore of Ukraine, have pushed renewables up the
wind market in cumulative installations. Glob- investment agenda and should focus on foster-
ally, offshore brought its market share of new ing faster and more widespread growth in the
installations to 22.5% in 2021. wind sector.
Yet the GWEC stressed the growth figure of “The events of the last year, which has seen
12% needed to quadruple by 2030 if the world economies and consumers exposed to extreme
is to stay on course for a 1.5°C pathway and net fossil fuel volatility and high prices around the
zero by 2050. world, are a symptom of a hesitant and disor-
“Scaling up growth to the level required to derly energy transition, while Russia’s invasion
reach Net Zero and achieve energy security will of Ukraine has exposed the implications of
require a new, more proactive approach to policy dependency on fossil fuel imports for energy
making around the world... The last 12 months security,” Backwell said.
should serve as a huge wake-up call that we need “The last 12 months should serve as a huge
to move decisively forward and switch to 21st wake-up call that we need to move decisively

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 14 06•April•2022