The wind is blowing in favour of wind power: 550 billion investment up to 2028

Installing wind power will represent investment of arround €550 billion over the next eight years

Wood Mackenzie, the energy, chemicals, renewable energy, metals and mining global research and consultancy group, has determined that investment in wind power –one of the pillars of the global renewable energy industry– will grow by 8% over the next eight years, reaching €55 billion annually. This energy, which accumulates 591,000 MW installed worldwide, would mean a total investment of €5 billion over the course of 2020-2028.

The consultant clarifies that these figures are based both on the increase in offshore demand, which has risen by up to 20%, and on the rise in the price of turbines themselves. Numerous associations, such as Wind Europe, back up the key role this industry plays in achieving the climate goals of continents such as Europe, where it already accounts for 15% of energy generation. To achieve this, Europe would have to install 30 GW of wind power annually, doubling the 15.4 GW added during 2019.

Despite these optimistic forecasts, Wood Mackenzie emphasises the negative role that the global health crisis resulting from Covid-19 is causing in the supply chains of the world’s leading turbine manufacturers, and therefore in deliveries to the main operators. This situation would therefore affect countries such as China, the United States, Spain, or Italy, although, in the case of Asia, the return to early March production levels only meant a 3 GW production penalty.

WIND ENERGY WILL TURN 40 IN 2021

This news comes on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the first ever wind farm, born from the collaboration between NASA and the United States Department of Energy in 1981. Towards 2000, as this small experimental wind farm was called, consisted of turbines in groups of three steel tube towers. Even so, it was not until 1997 that the first kilowatt generated by wind power was sold.