{"id":13363,"date":"2019-06-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.alj3.clients.lemonhq.io\/perspectives\/wind-blows-building-cleaner-future-wind-energy\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T09:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T09:00:19","slug":"wind-blows-building-cleaner-future-wind-energy","status":"publish","type":"perspectives","link":"https:\/\/cms.alj3.clients.lemonhq.io\/en\/perspectives\/wind-blows-building-cleaner-future-wind-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the wind blows: Building a cleaner future with wind energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The growth of electric vehicles, the rise of new technologies and dramatically increasing urban development mean that demand for electricity is facing unprecedented strain. \u00a0So how will the global energy mix adapt to new pressures over the coming decades?<\/p>\n

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Global electricity consumption is set to double by 2050, with renewables predicted to take up the majority of the load – accounting for more than 50% of electricity generation[1]<\/a> by 2035.<\/p>\n

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Solar photovoltaic (or PV) energy generation often attracts the majority of media attention in the discussion of renewable energy, particularly as most consumers are becoming more and more familiar with the use of solar panels in a domestic context.\u00a0 Yet wind power is playing an increasingly important role. \u00a0At the end of 2018, global installed wind capacity stood at 591 GW \u2013 up 9.6% compared to the end of 2017[2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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More than 50 GW of new wind capacity has been installed each year since 2014, according to research from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC<\/a>), with developing regions \u2013 such as Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa \u2013 acknowledging the value of wind power by delivering 10% of new onshore installations in 2018[3]<\/a>. \u00a0For the next four years, until 2023, new installations are set to reach a minimum threshold of 55 GW per year[4]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This activity is inevitably having an economic impact.\u00a0 Investment in global wind energy<\/a> grew by US$ 107 billion in 2017, according to the United Nations[5]<\/a>. \u00a0By 2030, it is anticipated that 320 GW of wind energy capacity will be installed across the European Union (254 GW onshore, 66 GW offshore), generating almost 25% of the EU\u2019s electricity demand[6]<\/a>. \u00a0Wind generation figures similar to those would see \u20ac 239 billion invested across Europe over the next decade, with the wind industry providing employment for 569,000 people across the continent[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Falling costs build Middle East momentum<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to McKinsey, \u201cmany countries will reach a tipping point in the coming five years, where new-build \u2026 wind capacity is cost-competitive with the fuel cost of existing conventional plants\u201d.<\/em> \u00a0These developments are already starting to bear fruit in Africa and the Middle East, where there is now 5.7 GW of installed wind capacity and expectations that that figure will more than double by 2023[8]<\/a>. \u00a0Almost 17% of that 5.7 GW (962 MW) was installed onshore in 2018, with Egypt (380 MW), Kenya (310 MW) and Morocco (120 MW) leading the way.<\/p>\n

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Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC<\/p><\/div>\n

Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, said: \u201cGWEC is especially watching the development in the Middle East. \u00a0In January 2019, Saudi Arabia awarded 400MW to build the first commercial onshore wind farm in the Middle East. \u00a0The bid \u2026 proves the competitiveness of onshore wind.<\/em>\u201d<\/div>\n

Saudi Arabia\u2019s first onshore wind farm is a key part of the country\u2019s National Renewable Energy Program, which Abdul Latif Jameel Energy<\/a> actively supports. \u00a0The US$ 500 million Dumat Al Jandal project was awarded by the Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO<\/a>) at an LCOE of US$ 2.13 per kWh.\u00a0 It is expected to create almost 1,000 jobs and power 70,000 homes[9]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking to the future in Latin America<\/strong><\/p>\n

Similar movements are happening around the world \u2013 especially Latin America. \u00a0In Chile<\/a>, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV<\/a>) is developing its first hybrid solar-wind project, combining photovoltaic and wind technologies at a site that will power almost 224,000 homes and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 221,000 tons of carbon dioxide. \u00a0It is also active in Colombia, Peru and Uruguay, and has been assessing opportunities in Argentina.<\/p>\n

FRV\u2019s South American projects<\/a> reflect the fact that Latin American wind installations grew by 18.7% in 2018, with Brazil adding 2 GW of capacity amid prices falling to just US$ 22 per MWh. \u00a0Mexico also installed almost 1 GW in 2018, and expects to have more than a third of its power coming from renewable sources by 2024[10]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Andrea Fontana, Managing Director Europe, FRV<\/p><\/div>\n

Andrea Fontana, Managing Director of FRV\u2019s Wind Energy division, said: “Solar and wind technologies have many similarities and a high degree of maturity, which is allowing us to lead the transition to clean energy throughout the world. \u00a0At FRV, we understand wind power as the natural progression of our consolidated experience in the solar energy sector, and we will continue to bet on it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

There are several other wind energy developments blowing through Latin America. \u00a0In Colombia, the first auction of long-term renewable energy PPAs was held in early 2019, with GWEC predicting that wind power could account for 20% of the country\u2019s power by 2029[11]<\/a>.\u00a0 Ben Backwell said: \u201cThe development of the wind market in Latin America is very positive[12]<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Advances across the Asia-Pacific<\/strong><\/p>\n

Installed onshore wind capacity also jumped in the Asia-Pacific region, growing by 4.2% in 2018. \u00a0Described by GWEC as \u201cthe leading growth market for the global wind industry\u201d<\/em>, Asia-Pacific is expected to see total onshore installations reach 400 GW by 2023[13]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In January 2019, Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading Japan<\/a> took its first tentative steps into Japan\u2019s energy market with the launch of two micro wind turbines at Cape Erimo \u2013 Japan\u2019s \u2018Wind Town\u2019 \u2013 in south-east Hokkaido. \u00a0Working in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading Japan plans to add further turbines in the coming years. \u00a0By partnering with Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, it is hoped that progress will quickly be made to develop and scale the project.<\/p>\n