China to add 70% of new global wind power up to 2030

China is forecast to account nearly 70% of new wind power capacity additions globally within a decade boosted by the country’s robust electricity demand.

Consulting firm Wood Mackenzie in its fourth quarter forecast expects a 69 gigawatts (GW) increase in new wind power capacity additions globally for the period of 2021 to 2030 with 48GW coming from China.

“Rapid growth in power demand driven by China’s industrial sector and the recent power shortage in September sparked China’s determination to accelerate the development of renewable energy. Hence, we have upgraded our China wind power capacity outlook,” said Wood Mackenzie research director Luke Lewandowski in a statement on Wednesday.

“Acute demand for power along China’s coastline triggered a 13-GW upgrade in the offshore wind sector, largely concentrated from 2023 to 2026. The country’s commitment to net zero emissions is expected to drive 88 GW of additional offshore wind capacity between 2021 and 2030,” Wood Mackenzie principal analyst Xiaoyang Li added.

Apart from China, Vietnam is the rising star for adding new wind power capacity in Asia-Pacific. The Southeast Asian country reported a 33-fold increase in new capacity additions in just one year as developers have pushed to capitalise on the wind feed-in-tariff that expired at the end of October.

A feed-in-tariff is a policy aiming to promote investment in renewable energy in the early development stage. The scheme guarantees small renewable energy producers, such as wind and solar energy, can sell their electricity to the grid at above-market price.