Renewable Energy World
On the global stage, China is the leading market for wind energy. With wind capacity of 168.7 GW at the end of 2016, it held a market share in new deployments of over 42 percent. China’s commitment to renewables, with a focus on wind, doesn’t show signs of ebbing: aiming for 20 percent of its energy needs to be met with clean energy by 2030 and pledging to invest US$367 billion in renewables by 2020, MAKE Consulting predicts China averaging over 25 GW of new wind capacity annually for the next decade.
Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the GWEC describes China as “making steady progress,” noting recent success in dealing with long-standing curtailment problems an encouraging sign.
Outlook on the world’s second largest wind market, the U.S., is somewhat mired by developments surrounding the proposed tax reform bill in fall 2017.
“Legislators are wreaking havoc in Washington — I don’t think it will make it through the Senate, but it could have a big effect in the long run. Equally, so long as it has a chance it’s going to put a damper on the new investment in the short term,” said Sawyer.
