GWEC: Wind Energy in Asia-Pacific Region Surges 2018

The latest figures of the Global Wind Report released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) show that the Asia-Pacific region installed 24.9 GW capacity of onshore wind power in 2018, an increase of 4.2% compared to 2017. The preview data forecasts that a further 145 GW of onshore wind capacity will be added by 2023 which would lead up to a total installed onshore capacity of over 400 GW in the region.

The top three onshore wind markets in Asia-Pacific in 2018 were China with an installation of 21.2 GW (preliminary), followed by India with 2.2 GW and Australia with more than 500 MW. GWEC expects China to remain the largest onshore market in the future.

Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, said: “Asia-Pacific is the leading growth market for the global wind industry. Aside from the largest markets in China, India and Australia, GWEC expects positive developments in South-East Asia with onshore wind representing a cost-competitive choice for markets with growing energy demand.”

Karin Ohlenforst, Director of Market Intelligence at GWEC, said: “Wind markets in South-East Asia offer an opportunity for growth if policy commitments focus on the competitiveness and efficiency that wind energy can offer. More mature Asian markets like Japan and South Korea will continue to install new onshore capacity growing the onshore market in Asia.”