The wind power industry set new records in 2014 – more than 50 GW of new capacity was installed. Another record breaking year occurred in 2015, with 22% annual market growth resulting in the 60 GW mark being passed.
In 2015, close to half of all new wind power was added outside of the traditional markets in Europe and North America. This was largely from new construction in China and India. Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) figures show that 2015 recorded an increase of installed capacity of more than 63 GW, taking the total installed wind energy capacity to 432.9 GW, up from 74 GW in 2006. In terms of economic value, the wind energy sector has become one of the important players in the energy markets, with the total investments reaching US$329bn (€296.6bn), an increase of 4% over 2014.
Although the wind power industry was affected by the global financial crisis in 2009 and 2010, GWEC predicts that the installed capacity of wind power will be 792.1 GW by the end of 2020 and 4,042 GW by end of 2050.
The increased commissioning of wind power is being accompanied by record low prices for forthcoming renewable electric power. In some cases, wind onshore is already the cheapest electric power generation option and costs are continuing to decline. The contracted prices for wind onshore for the next few years are now as low as 30 USD/MWh.
In the EU in 2015, 44% of all new generating capacity was wind power; while in the same period net fossil fuel power capacity decreased.