Tumbling power prices to help wind to 792GW by 2020, says GWEC

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Power at “unheard of” cheap prices, post-Paris climate targets and a stable US market will combine to propel the global wind sector to 791.7GW of capacity by the end of 2020, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

The five-year forecast for cumulative capacity – almost double the 432.7GW in place at the end of 2015 – will come after a period of “sustained” growth, rather than the “spectacular expansion” of the past two years, according to the industry body’s Market Forecast 2016-20.

Annual capacity installation growth rates will rein-back sharply from the stellar 22% seen in 2015's 63GW of additions, which GWEC admitted contained surprises in the form of the "remarkable" 30.8GW added by China and a stronger-than-expected US market.

"If China does 30[GW] again I will be surprised," GWEC Secretary-General Steve Sawyer said in a conference call.

In 2016, GWEC expects annual capacity growth of 64GW, a 1.6% year-on-year increase, rising to 68GW, or 6.3%, next year.

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