China Installs 52GW of Wind in 2020

China installed 52GW of new wind power capacity in 2020, double the country’s annual installations compared to the previous year, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

The Asia Pacific region is increasingly driving growth of the global wind industry, with the region accounting for 60% of all new wind power capacity in 2020, GWEC stated.

In the region, after China, India installed 1119MW, Australia installed 1097MW, Japan installed 449MW, Kazakhstan 300MW, and Sri Lanka 88MW.

Altogether, the region installed 56 GW of new wind power capacity in 2020, a 78% year-on-year increase and nearly the same capacity that was installed globally in 2019.

Total wind power capacity in Asia Pacific is now nearly 347GW, making it the region with the most wind power capacity worldwide.

GWEC market intelligence and strategy head Feng Zhao said: “Asia Pacific is the region with the most wind power capacity globally, with the region installing over 60% of all new global wind power capacity in 2020.

“The incredible and rapid growth of wind power in the region has been led by China, which now has more wind power capacity than Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America combined.

He said an “installation rush” in China last year was expected, due to the phase out of the onshore wind feed-in-tariff by the end of 2020.

Zhao added: “In order for China to achieve its goal of net zero by 2060, the country needs to be installing over 50GW of wind power capacity per year from 2021-2025, and 60GW from 2026 onwards.

“Although installation levels were on track with these targets in 2020, China now must ensure that this level of growth can be sustained in a subsidy-free era.”

GWEC India policy director Martand Shardul said within the region, India’s wind power markets experienced a slowdown in 2020, adding less than half of the capacity that was installed in 2019.

“Although COVID-19 may have contributed to the slowdown, we have been witnessing a deceleration of market momentum in India since 2018 due to policy, infrastructure, and regulatory challenges.

“Solving these challenges through collaboration between the private and public sector will be key to make India a wind power leader in the region once again and power a green recovery.”