According to a new report from BCC Research, the global wind energy market was worth $130 billion in 2013 and $165.5 billion in 2014. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% between 2015 and 2020 resulting in $176.2 billion in 2015 and $250 billion in 2020.
Globally, total investments in small wind, onshore wind and offshore wind energy reached about $130 billion at the end of 2013 and these investments are expected to reach $250 billion in 2020. These investments are inclusive of the basic cost of all types of wind turbines put together.
The wind energy industry can be broadly classified into onshore and offshore. The former technology has achieved a certain degree of maturity, though costs can be reduced through material diversification and technology innovation. The latter, on the other hand, has the potential to deliver the greatest benefits and is anticipated to take off in the near future.
“Wind energy has great potential to lessen our dependence on traditional resources like oil, gas and coal, and to do it without as much damage to the environment,” says BCC Research energy and resources analyst Srinivasa Rajaram . “With largely untapped wind energy resources around the globe and declining wind energy costs, the world is now moving forward with an aggressive initiative to accelerate the progress of wind technology, and further reduce its costs, to create new jobs and to improve environmental quality.”
Being capital intensive, wind energy has no fuel costs. The price of wind power is therefore much more stable than the volatile prices of fossil fuel sources. There are now longer and lighter wind turbine blades, improvements in turbine performance and increased power generation efficiency. Compared with other low carbon power sources, wind turbines have some of the lowest global warming potential per unit of electrical energy generated.