Africa and Middle East Added 894 MW of Wind Energy in 2019

The latest data by GWEC shows Africa and the Middle East installed 894 MW capacity of wind power in 2019, a decrease of 7% on the previous year (962 MW)

The latest data released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) shows Africa and the Middle East installed 894 MW capacity of wind power in 2019, witnessing a decrease of 7 percent on the previous year which saw 962 MW installed. However, faster growth is on the horizon with GWEC Market Intelligence’s preliminary forecasts expecting 10.7 GW of wind energy capacity to be installed between 2020-2024, an increase of 167 percent on the current market status.

In 2019, the leading countries in the region for wind power capacity include:

• Egypt (262MW)
• Morocco (216 MW)
• Jordan (190MW)
• Ethiopia (120MW)

As per the analysis, over the next five years, South Africa will be leading the growth trend in the region with an additional 3.3 GW of wind energy capacity installed by 2024. This capacity will come from over 1.3 GW of Bid Window 4 projects currently under construction as well as further tenders in the context of the new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019, which foresees the installation of 14.4 GW of wind power capacity from 2022-2030 in the country.

Considering other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the significant potential for wind energy remains clear, with the SADC region alone accounting for 18 GW of wind energy potential in emerging markets such as Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia, and Mozambique.

In North Africa and the Middle East, GWEC foresees a major acceleration in growth in the next few years as a maturing project pipeline will come into place in 2020 to support an increase in wind power capacity, with GWEC Market Intelligence preliminary forecasts showing that wind energy capacity will surge over the next five years in markets such as Egypt (1.8 GW), Morocco (1.2 GW) and Saudi Arabia (1.2 GW).

Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC said that challenges such as policy and power market frameworks, transmission infrastructure bottlenecks, and off-taker risk must be overcome in order for Africa and the Middle East to take full advantage of their wind potential.

“GWEC has published the Africa Wind Energy Handbook as a tool to support policymakers in the region to overcome these challenges, bringing together the knowledge and experience of the industry to apply to the unique contexts of each market in the region. This will be crucial as the region’s energy demands, GDP and population are set to grow significantly over the next decade, as the wind can provide a decentralised, cheap and reliable energy source to increase electrification rates and support this growth,” he said.