Wind Capacity Grows in Africa and Middle East

The preview data from GWEC’s Global Wind Report forecasts that a further 6.5 GW capacity will be added by 2023 – this would mean more than double the current installed capacity of 5.7GW.
The top three markets in Africa and the Middle East in 2018 were Egypt with 380 MW of new wind energy capacity, Kenya with 310 MW and Morocco with 120 MW-.

Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, said: “Government commitment in Africa and Middle East is essential for wind energy to progress. Investments in grid and infrastructure are key drivers for growth. GWEC is especially watching the development in the Middle East. In January 2019, Saudi Arabia awarded 400MW to build the first commercial onshore wind farm in the Middle East. The bid of 21.30 USD/ KWh proves the competitiveness of onshore wind.”

Karin Ohlenforst, Director of Market Intelligence at GWEC, said: “After two years with lower installations, Africa and Middle East reached almost 1GW of new wind capacity, reaching a similar level as in 2015 (983MW). The outlook is that Africa and Middle East will add more than 1GW each year of new wind capacity. Even though, no new capacity was installed in South Africa during 2018, during the summer state utility Eskom signed PPAs from previous auction rounds. Further, the industry expects the fifth round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Program (REIPPPP) to take place during H1 2019.”

These latest figures released by GWEC form the statistical release of the Global Wind Report which will be released in April in full.