Where is new wind power in the world being built?

Date Published: February 6, 2023

The modern wind energy industry took off in the early 1980s in Southern California due largely to federal and state policies that sought to reduce dependence on imported oil by encouraging renewable sources. At about the same time, Denmark, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands launched national wind energy programs. The United States and Europe remain centers of new wind energy capacity to this day.

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India was one of the first countries outside of Europe and the United States to invest in wind farms, closely followed by Australia, Japan, Canada, China, and Brazil in the early- to mid-2000s. By 2021, wind power capacity in operation in 55 countries contributed an estimated 7% of total electricity generation.¹ About 93% were onshore systems, with the remaining 7% offshore wind farms. That ratio is likely to change because many of the plans for new capacity additions around the world call for offshore facilities.

1 REN21. 2022. Renewables 2022 Global Status Report (Paris: REN21 SecretariatLink

Electricity, Global, History, Power Plants, Renewable Energy, Wind

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