CleanTechnica
The Global Wind Energy Council has released its flagship report highlighting global wind energy growth throughout 2014, led by emerging markets in Africa and Latin America.
With 2014 sitting as another record year for the global wind industry, following annual installations surpassing 50 GW, and investments into the wind energy sector rising by 11%, much focus has been given to what 2015 and the years following will look like for wind energy. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) Global Wind Report: Annual Market update report, released in Istanbul on Wednesday, also highlighted the important role emerging countries are playing in the global wind industry: China installed 23 GW of new wind capacity in 2014, bringing its cumulative total up to a staggering 114 GW. Brazil was the world’s 4th largest installer in 2014, and entered the top 10 cumulative rankings for the first time. The African wind energy market also took off in 2014, while Germany, Chile, Canada, and Turkey also had record years.
“Wind power’s growth is increasingly driven by its competitive pricing, as well as because it enhances energy security, price stability and (especially in China) through the need to address the choking smog that is increasingly making major urban areas in the developing world unlivable,” said Steve Sawyer, GWEC Secretary General.
