The global wind industry is set to add almost one terawatt of new capacity by the end of the decade after a record setting 2020, said Wood Mackenzie in its latest forecasts for the sector.

The research group expects China alone to add 408GW of new turbines in the 2021-30 period – some 41% of the global total – as part of the nation’s mammoth push to install 1,200GW of wind and solar.

That will include an extra 73GW of Chinese offshore wind, a total that, if realised, would see the Asian giant emerge as by far the largest market for wind at sea, blowing away current leader the UK which is targeting 40GW by then.

The rest of Asia Pacific will add 126GW according to Wood Mackenzie’s 10-year outlook, with India accounting for half of that.

Luke Lewandowski, Wood Mackenzie research director, said: “Another key region that will spur wind power growth through 2030 is Europe. The EU’s decarbonisation plan will motivate 248GW of new wind capacity over our 10-year outlook.

“Additionally, 66% of this capacity will be onshore due to larger turbine models unlocking space-constrained markets, the repowering of an aging fleet, and increased development in Eastern Europe.”

In the Americas, US offshore wind will add an average 4.5GW from 2024-30, accounting for 40% of total annual turbine installations, Wood Mackenzie reckons.

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico will account for 90% of a record 16GW of new capacity expected in Latin America between 2021 and 2023, it added.

The 10-year forecast came as Wood Mackenzie became the latest major research group to tally a record year for wind power in 2020, when it put global additions at 114GW, an 82% year-on-year increase.

That includes a record 72GW in China, a figure that takes in uncompleted capacity registered by developers in a bid to claim expiring subsidies.

The Global Wind Energy Council last week released its own assessment of a 93GW addition last year, a total it said was only half what is needed to hit climate goals under the Paris Agreement.

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China to power wind to first terawatt decade with '40% of global total': WoodMac