The global wind power industry had a banner year in 2014, installing more than 50 GW of new capacity. To put this in perspective, the total amount of wind power capacity in the world ten years ago was only 60 GW.
The total worldwide capacity has now reached 370 GW, which is just about equal to the total capacity of nuclear power plants around the world. Of course, the nuclear plants run around the clock, whereas the wind turbines only work when the wind is blowing. On the other hand, nuclear power is struggling against intense political and environmental opposition.
Nearly half of the new wind power installed last year was in China, where serious problems with air pollution are putting enormous pressure on that country to move away from its dependence upon coal-fired power plants.
A big part of the boom in wind power comes from its competitive pricing. Wind turbine prices have fallen by about 40% over the past 6 years. In fact, wind power costs have come down so much that wind power providers been able to secure contracts in competitive bidding situations against conventional power sources. In many situations, wind power is the cheapest power available.
In the US, coming up with the capital costs of wind power is still dependent upon policy measures such as tax credits, which tend to be uncertain over extended periods of time. But overall, the growth of wind power will continue given its increasingly competitive pricing along with the fact that it enhances energy security, price stability, and it does not produce any pollution or greenhouse gases.
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Global Wind Growth Hits All-time High
Photo, posted October 25, 2014, courtesy of Anne Marie Peterson via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.