The Asia Pacific region installed 56 GW of new wind power capacity in 2020, a 78 percent increase and nearly the same capacity that was installed globally in 2019, according to the latest data released by GWEC Market Intelligence.
This brings total wind power capacity in the region to nearly 347 GW, which helps to avoid 510 million tons of CO2 emissions annually – equivalent to taking 110 million passenger cars off the road. The Asia Pacific region installed over 60 percent of all new global wind power capacity in 2020.
This growth was driven by China, which installed 52 GW of new wind power capacity in 2020 according to initial data – double what the country installed in 2019 and more capacity installed in a single year by any country in history.
China has more wind power capacity than Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America combined, the report said.
New Wind Power Capacity in the Asia Pacific in 2020
China – 52,000 MW*
India – 1,119 MW
Australia – 1,097 MW
Japan – 449 MW
Kazakhstan – 300 MW
South Korea – 160 MW
Vietnam – 125 MW
New Zealand – 103 MW
Sri Lanka – 88 MW
Taiwan – 74 MW
Pakistan – 48 MW
Top 5 Wind Markets the Asia Pacific for Cumulative Capacity
China – 288,320 MW*
India – 38,625 MW
Australia – 7,296 MW
Japan – 4,336 MW
South Korea – 1,648 MW
*Initial Data
In addition to China, Australia (1,097 MW), Japan (449 MW), Kazakhstan (300 MW), and Sri Lanka (88 MW) all had record years for wind power in 2020.
India (1,119 MW) ranked second in terms of new wind power capacity in the region in 2020. Last year was the lowest year on record for new wind installations for India since 2004 due to regulatory and infrastructure bottlenecks. India’s wind power markets experienced a slowdown in 2020, adding less than half of the capacity that was installed in 2019.
“We were expecting an installation rush in China last year due to the phase out of the onshore wind Feed-in-Tariff by the end of 2020, but the Chinese wind market exceeded our original forecasts by over 73 percent,” Feng Zhao, head of Market Intelligence and Strategy at GWEC, said.
China needs to be installing over 50 GW of wind power capacity per year from 2021-2025, and 60 GW from 2026 onwards in order for China to achieve its goal of net zero by 2060.
Liming Qiao, head of GWEC Asia, said: “We are beginning to see new wind power markets emerge in the Asia Pacific region, especially in South East Asia. Markets such as Vietnam have massive wind power potential, but getting the right regulatory frameworks in place will be key to provide a long-term horizon for the market and attract investors.”