[Benjamin]

China leads world's biggest increase in wind power capacity

Developers built windfarms with a total capacity of almost 100GW in 2020, a rise of nearly 60% on previous year

By Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent
Wed 10 Mar 2021 18.12 GMT, https://www.theguardian.com/business...city-windfarms

China built more new windfarm capacity in 2020 than the whole world combined in the year before, leading to an annual record for windfarm installations despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most of the world’s new windfarms were built onshore, which more than offset a drop of 20% in the new wind power capacity built at sea.

Chinese renewable energy developers piled into the market before a looming cut-off for new wind power subsidies from the government, and demand is likely to slow next year.

China’s president, Xi Jinping, surprised UN delegates last year by announcing that the world’s fastest-growing economy would ensure that its emissions peaked within the next five years and declined to net zero by 2060.
But experts have warned that China’s 14th five-year plan, published this month, could lead to a rise in greenhouse gas emissions after it gave few details on how the world’s biggest emitter would meet its new climate targets.

China’s wind power surge was followed by a boom in the US, where developers built 16.5GW of new wind capacity last year, before the phase-out of a government tax credit scheme.

The surge in windfarm growth across China and the US also toppled Denmark’s Vestas from its place as the world’s biggest wind turbine maker for the first time in five years.

The company was usurped by US turbine firm GE and China’s Xinjiang Goldwind, which were the top two suppliers of turbines globally.

“GE and Goldwind claimed the top two spots in this year’s ranking by concentrating on the largest markets. This strategy may not be as fruitful in 2021 as subsidies lapse in those areas,” Edwards said. “Vestas takes on less market risk, with turbines commissioned in 34 countries last year.”

Vestas hopes to become a leading player in the global offshore wind market by 2025 after agreeing to buy out Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ 50% stake in their joint venture, MHI Vestas.

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Vergleich in €:

China Longyuan Power Group WKN: A0YFUR ISIN: CNE100000HD4
Xinjiang Goldwind Sc. & T. WKN: A1C0QD
VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS, WKN: 913769 ISIN: DK0010268606
General Electric, WKN: 851144 / ISIN: US3696041033
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