LONDON: Global wind energy capacity could increase by more than half over the next five years, as costs continue to fall and the market returns to growth at the end of this decade, a report by the Global Wind Energy Council shows.
In its annual report on the status of the global wind industry, the GWEC said cumulative wind energy capacity stood at 539 gigawatts (GW) at the end of last year, 11 percent higher than the previous year.
That should increase by 56 percent to 840 GW by the end of 2022 as countries develop more renewable energy to meet emissions cut targets and prices continue to fall, the wind industry association said.
Around 52.5 gigawatts (GW) of new wind power capacity was added worldwide last year, down slightly from 54.6 GW in 2016. The GWEC expects the market to be flat this year but start growing again from 2019.
“The annual market will return to growth in 2019 and 2020, breaching the 60 GW barrier once again and continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace, in the beginning of the new decade,” the GWEC said in its report.
“We expect to see total cumulative installations reach 840 GW by the end of 2022,” it added.
Wind power has become more competitive over the past few years, with a move from government subsidies to auctions which has brought costs down further.
“Overall, offshore prices for projects to be completed in the next five years or so are half of what they were for the last five years and this trend is likely to continue,” the report said.
China continues to be the biggest wind market in the world, adding nearly 19.7 GW of new capacity in 2017, though this was 15.9 percent lower than the previous year.
The pace of China’s wind development is gradually slowing down and growth is expected to be flat to 2020.
India experienced record wind installations last year, adding over 4 GW, but GWEC expects this to slow this year due to a transition period between old market incentives and moving toward an auction-based system, the GWEC said.
The EU also had a record year in 2017 with 15.6 GW added. The bloc is expected to install around 76 GW of new wind power by the end of 2022, reaching a cumulative total of 254 GW.
The US added 7 GW of new wind capacity last year. Despite attempts to change the structure of tax credits last year, the provisions remained intact and continue to support the industry.
Global wind capacity to rise by more than half in next five years
Global wind capacity to rise by more than half in next five years
- Around 52.5 gigawatts of new wind power capacity was added worldwide last year, down slightly from 54.6 GW in 2016
- China continues to be the biggest wind market in the world, adding nearly 19.7 GW of new capacity in 2017
Real Estate Registry signs 10 agreements at forum in Riyadh
RIYADH: The Real Estate Registry concluded its participation in the Real Estate Future 2026, as a partner of the forum, with a distinguished presence that included the launch of its business portal, the signing of 10 agreements and memoranda of understanding with entities from the public and private sectors, the organization of specialized workshops, and the awarding of the Gold Award at the Real Estate Excellence Awards.
During his participation in the forum, the CEO of the firm, Mohammed Al-Sulaiman, reviewed the latest developments in real estate registration in the Kingdom in a keynote speech, highlighting the pivotal role of the Real Estate Registry in building a unified and reliable system for data. He also announced the launch of the national blockchain infrastructure, which aims to enable the microcoding of real estate assets, enhance transparency, expand investment opportunities, and support innovative ownership models within a reliable regulatory framework.
On the sidelines of the forum, Al-Sulaiman met with Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa. During the meeting, they discussed areas of joint cooperation, exchanged experiences and advice on shaping the future of the real estate sector, and reviewed best practices in implementing real estate registration systems that enhance reliability and improve the efficiency of property registration.
efficiency of property registration systems.
The Real Estate Registry’s participation included organizing three specialized workshops that focused on the role of geospatial technologies in identifying ownership, enhancing transparency, and improving the quality of real estate data.
The workshop “Empowering the Real Estate Registry for the Business Sector” reviewed digital solutions that enable the business sector to manage its real estate assets more efficiently and enhance governance and technical integration. The workshop “From Off-Plan Sales to Title Deed” focused on the journey of documenting real estate ownership and the role of the registry in linking the stages of development and documentation within an integrated digital system.
On the sidelines of the forum, the Real Estate Registry signed 10 agreements and memorandums of understanding, including a deal with Yasmina Information Technology Co. to utilize real estate data in developing smarter insurance solutions that support the real estate sector and enhance service reliability.
Partnerships were also signed with Haseel, NewTech, and Sahl, as well as HissaTech and Droub, to develop innovative digital solutions in property ownership, fractional ownership, and asset tokenization, as well as real estate finance and investment within a trusted regulatory framework.
Further collaborations included an MoU with ROSHN Group, an agreement with the Saudi Water Authority to enable data integration and quality enhancement, an agreement with the Saudi National Bank, and a partnership with Saudi Post to link the national address with the property registry as a unified geospatial identifier supporting data accuracy and integration.
The registry’s participation was crowned with the Golden Award at the Real Estate Excellence Awards in the category of Excellence in Property Documentation, in recognition of its role in building a model based on transparency, accuracy, and speed, as well as advanced digital technologies and specialized legal expertise, contributing to rights protection and increasing the sector’s attractiveness.
The Real Estate Registry emphasized that its participation reflects its continued role as a key enabler of the real estate sector, a trusted data source, and an active partner in driving digital transformation, enhancing market efficiency, and building investor and financier confidence, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives for a fully integrated and sustainable digital real estate ecosystem.
