The latest data released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) shows North, Central and South America and the Caribbean installed 13,427MW capacity of wind power in 2019, an increase of 12 per cent on the previous year which saw 11,892MW installed.
In North America (Canada and USA), new capacity additions grew by nearly 18 per cent compared to 2018. In Central and South America and the Caribbean, new capacity additions decreased by 5 per cent compared to 2018.
In North America, the US saw an installation rush last year with nearly 10 GW installed. This was driven primarily by the Production Tax Credit (PTC) phase out and is expected to continue driving installations in 2020, while the recently approved one-year PTC extension is likely to create a new installation rush in 2024. In Central and South America and the Caribbean, strong growth has occurred in key markets such as Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. However, the outlook for wind power in the next two to three years in some of these markets – namely Argentina and Brazil - is threatened by regulatory and political challenges. Leading countries in the region for 2019 include: US (9,143W), Mexico (1,284MW), Argentina (931 MW), and Brazil (745MW)
The offshore market in the US is progressing, with first large-scale installations expected in 2022-2023 and more than 10GW expected to be built by 2026. Brazil is also looking to tap into the offshore market, and has the potential to deploy as much as 700GW of offshore wind, according to a roadmap for offshore wind released by the country’s Energy Research Office (EPE) in January 2020.
The offshore market in the US is progressing, with first large-scale installations expected in 2022-2023 and more than 10GW expected to be built by 2026. Brazil is also looking to tap into the offshore market, and has the potential to deploy as much as 700GW of offshore wind, according to a roadmap for offshore wind released by the country’s Energy Research Office (EPE) in January 2020.
