Wind power, like solar power, is finally cheaper than fossil fuels, but there aren’t enough wind farms to supply clean energy to everyone. To combat climate change and complete the sustainable clean energy revolution, the world needs to scale wind power and fast. Here’s how the world can make wind power a reality across the globe this decade.
Continue reading below
Our Featured Videos
A recent report from the World Economic Forum projects renewable energy to grow at an unprecedented rate until 2027. The source report is from the International Energy Agency (IEA), who also report obstacles to the goal of scaling wind power, particularly turbine manufacturing.
Related: Largest US offshore wind farm approved in Virginia
Why can’t we just build more wind turbines?
Like any budding industry, wind power can’t just scale when it gets funding: there are regulatory holdups as well. The energy industry still needs regulations for all the new designs for wind turbines and all the proposed wind farms offshore of countries where the winds are stronger in open waters.
Thank you!
Keep an eye out for our weekly newsletter.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive the latest in global news and designs building a better future.
The main challenge to wind power at the moment is uncertainty. How can we build more wind turbines with an uncertain supply chain, manufacturing slowdown and a growing uncertainty around global business climates?
Nevertheless, the sustainable energy industry is pushing forward. With oil supply to Europe disrupted by the war in Ukraine, it is especially important for governments to think of energy security in these changing times. Fortunately these days, that can look more like investment in clean energy infrastructure and a new technology arms race rather than simply reverting to dirty oil. It has to look different.
The world has run out of time on climate change, and the threat to international security from famine, refugee crises, war and natural disasters due to climate change is now so broad and imminent. Thereby, countries are making different decisions and investing in a clean energy future for the sake of geopolitical and climate stability.
What it really takes to scale wind power this decade
Can they make those investments fast enough, and what will it take to really scale wind power in the near future?
Current wind power since 2010 until recent calculations in 2021 makes up 6.6% of global energy supply, according to Statistica. The IEA’s 2021 report on wind energy gave a final verdict of “more efforts needed” to shore up supply and had this to say about the current state of wind energy:
“However, to get on track with the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, which has approximately 7,900 TWh of wind electricity generation in 2030, it is necessary to raise average annual capacity additions to almost 250 GW, more than double 2020’s record growth. Much greater efforts are needed to achieve this level of sustained capacity growth, with the most important areas for improvement being facilitating permitting for onshore wind and cost reductions for offshore wind.”
The good news is that between solar and wind power, sustainable energy supply has increased drastically in the last few years, and the IEA reports that sustainable energy should make up more than 1/3 of the world’s energy supply by 2025. Yes, just two years from now. That’s good progress. From there, sustainable energy can open up into a profitable competitive market that creates new jobs, rather than being a scramble to save the world.
The global energy transition is finally here
The IEA projects that global wind energy capacity may almost double until 2027. The bigger challenge than demand is policy and the difficult time entrepreneurs have in attracting funding for “do-gooder” startups with new wind turbine designs. But as the markets grow, it should be easier to find funding for world-changing technology as it becomes increasingly urgent to deploy.
The WEF lists the following potential solutions to blockages against scaling wind power:
- Auction designs with qualitative criteria beyond pricing
- Concrete plans for grid expansions
- Simplified and accelerated permitting that applies to both new and pending projects
- Transparent and stable long-term market volumes to finally close the gap between political ambitions and actual installation permits
- Global trade agreements that secure raw materials at fair prices
- Collaboration between countries and regions
- Scale-up funding to enable new manufacturing capabilities and technological development
Across Europe, 80 gigawatts (GW) in wind energy projects are held up in various permitting stages. Compare this with a total of 190 GWs in operation. That is a massive amount of wind farm projects held up in permitting stages.
Why haven’t manufacturers pushed forward more quickly? They’re trying. It seems the holdup currently is the administrative and geopolitical framework that also needs to adapt quickly to the demands of climate change.
Manufacturers need large orders to get these projects going, so by streamlining permitting processes and coordinating with other stakeholders, governments can help achieve their own climate goals. This investment is not only in product either, but also in infrastructure, which means governments need to be key collaborators to scale wind power.
So if the will is there, is the only block coordination? Not exactly. The world is now up against climate change that is shifting world governments and worsening floods and famines. Manufacturers are struggling to stay afloat with fluctuating demand. Since just 2021, wind-turbine manufacturers Vestas in Denmark, General Electric in the U.S., Nordex in Germany and Siemens Gamesa in Spain have made cumulative losses of €5.6 billion. In 2023, wind manufacturers have to deal with the rising energy costs for transport, manufacturing and operations.
It is doable, but the clean energy revolution is a massive flash point of change for the entire globe, and progress does not happen in a straight line.
Lead image via Pexels
