China to install 230.5GW of wind power by 2028

It is expected to account for over 75% of the Asia’s wind installations.

Approximately 62% of global wind power capacity coming online from end-2018 to 2028 will be within Asia, and driven primarily by China, which may account for over 75% of the region’s wind installations over the period, a report by Fitch Solutions revealed.

In terms of total nominal capacity installed, the firm forecasts China to be the largest growth market for wind projects by far, with a total capacity of 230.5GW coming online over the next ten years.

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“The country has been by far the fastest expanding wind power market over the past decade, albeit slowing somewhat over the past couple of years due to grid bottlenecks and concerns over China's vast outstanding feed-in-tariff payment backlog,” Fitch Solutions said.

However, in line with the country's push to phase out subsidies for renewable energy by 2021, as well as the build-out of a vast network of ultra-high voltage transmission lines that is improving the integration of wind power supplies to the grid, the report’s authors maintain an optimistic long-term growth outlook for China's wind power sector.

“This view is predicated on our expectation that the sector will be competitive with China's coal electricity tariffs, whilst the reduction of grid bottlenecks will play a crucial role in making unsubsidised wind power projects economically viable,” they said.

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Globally, Europe is expected to be the second largest growth market, accounting for over 21% of wind capacity coming online by 2028. Although markets such as the UK and Germany are slated to be the largest markets in the region for total wind power capacity, Denmark far outstrips the rest in terms of wind power reliance, as wind power will account for an annual average of just under 55% of its total power output.

“We are also seeing offshore projects gaining traction outside of Europe, with Taiwan having the largest project offshore pipeline registered in our Key Projects Database. We forecast that wind power generation will account for an annual average of just under half of all non-hydropower renewable electricity generation worldwide over the course of 2019 to 2028,” Fitch Solutions noted.