A wind power crisis is holding back the world’s green energy goal

The world’s green power goal has a wind problem.

At the COP28 climate talks in Dubai last year, leaders from more than 130 nations agreed to triple renewable power capacity by the end of the decade. It was one of the few tangible agreements at the annual meeting and a goal that’s crucial to cut dependence on fossil fuels that cause climate change.

While the target remains achievable, current rates of clean power deployment aren’t sufficient and the rollout of wind turbines is lagging, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

“One of the big problems here is wind," said Oliver Metcalfe, head of wind research at BloombergNEF. “The slow pace of wind progress is affecting the efficacy of that tripling renewables target.”

A decade ago annual solar and wind installations were neck and neck, then solar soared far ahead as massive investments in manufacturing capacity by the industry’s leaders in China has driven down the price of panels.

Though global wind capacity has nearly doubled in the past five years, solar has more than tripled. And the trend is set to continue. Solar installations are forecast to jump 34% in 2024, compared to a 5% increase for wind, according to BNEF...read more