Global wind power capacity grew by 9% year-over-year (YoY) to reach 906 GW in 2022, a Global Wind Energy Council report said. During the last year, 77.6 GW of new wind power capacity was connected to the grid.

The onshore wind market witnessed a global addition of 68.8 GW, with China accounting for 52% of the growth. However, the YoY growth was lower by 5%, partly due to the wind capacity addition slowdown in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

The primary factor was the reduction in installations in the U.S. Despite finishing the year with a strong final quarter, the U.S. wind industry commissioned only 8.6 GW of onshore wind capacity, mainly due to supply chain constraints and grid interconnection issues.

Last year, the global offshore wind industry saw 8.8 GW of new capacity connected to power grids, resulting in a cumulative total of 64.3 GW. While the new installations were 58% lower than the record year of 2021, they still made 2022 the second-highest year in history for offshore wind installations.

China maintained its position as the leading offshore wind developer globally. However, its new installations decreased to 5 G.W. in 2022 from 21 G.W. a year ago, following the end of the feed-in tariff. The Asia-Pacific region saw Taiwan adding 1,175 MW while Japan commissioned 84 M.W.

Market outlook

The twin challenges of ensuring secure and affordable energy supplies while meeting climate targets have driven the wind power sector into an extraordinary new rapid growth phase.

The report said that despite the challenges faced in the previous year, the global wind market is poised to rebound strongly in 2023, with projections indicating that it will surpass 100 GW of new capacity for the first time in history.

The mid-term outlook for wind energy is highly promising, with a projected double-digit growth rate of 15%.

According to GWEC, the wind power industry is expected to add a staggering 680 GW of new capacity over the next five years. It translates to an average of over 136 GW of new installations annually until 2027.

Over the next five years, the compound annual growth rate for onshore wind power is projected to be 12%, with an anticipated average of 110 GW of new installations annually. It amounts to 550 GW, likely to be built between 2023 and 2027.

The backbone of global onshore wind development will be fueled by growth in China, Europe, and the U.S. These regions are expected to contribute over 80% of the additional capacity in the next five years.

The global offshore wind market is poised for substantial growth over the next five years, with projections for a capacity addition of 35.5 GW in 2027, up from 8.8 GW in 2022.

The projections mean that wind capacity will increase its share of total new global installations from 11% to 23% by 2027. Overall, 130 GW of offshore wind capacity is expected to be added worldwide between 2023 and 2027, with an average of nearly 26 GW of new installations annually.

According to GWEC, onshore wind installations in India is forecasted at 4.1 GW in 2023.

GWEC had said that wind projects could shore up revenue and jobs for the economies of Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, and Morocco, which have a combined potential of 3.5 GW.