Global wind and solar capacity hits 1,000GW

Wind and solar capacity reached new record highs this year after breaking through the 1,000GW barrier for the first time, data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reveals.

It shows that total installed capacity worldwide has grown 65-fold this century, and has more than quadrupled since 2010 to reach 1,013GW, costing approximately $2.3trn to deploy.

However, BNEF predicts that the next 1,000GW will take just four years to install and will be significantly cheaper, with total capital expenditure of $1.23trn expected between now and 2022. Wind power still makes up the majority of capacity at 54%, but is likely to relinquish the lead soon, after solar saw its share increase from 8% in 2007 to 46% today.

“Hitting one terrawatt is a tremendous achievement for the wind and solar industries, but as far as we’re concerned, it’s just the start,” said Albert Cheung, BNEF’s head of analysis.

“Wind and solar are winning the battle for cost-supremacy, so this milestone will be just the first of many.’’

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