The wind of renewables is blowing stronger and stronger and now represents the future of energy, to contribute to the sustainable development of the planet. We are reminded of this by Global Wind Day 2020, which is celebrated every 15 June around the world to highlight the importance of wind energy.
2019 was truly an important year for the growth of wind energy. According to statistics released in April by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), the capacity of electrical generation from wind installed around the world has reached 651 GW.
The road to wind energy
These results show an important step forward in the energy transition: just think that the nearly 60 GW installed in the last 12 months alone can cover more than 6% of the global demand for electricity. Today, for at least two thirds of the global population, wind is the most affordable option for new electrical generation. Still, we still have a long way to go to create a new, more sustainable energy model, increasingly based on the use of renewable energy.
Just a few weeks ago, in Europe, the signing of the European Alliance for Green Recovery – an agreement promoted by European political and business forces and civil society – reiterated the need for increased investments in the renewables sector to lead the post-pandemic economic recovery and to tackle current emergencies.
An increasingly affordable resource
Wind will be one of the key technologies for the economic recovery: it will contribute to creating millions of jobs, to providing renewable energy at more affordable costs and to providing a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, through increasingly advanced and resilient technologies and infrastructure.
Thanks to a decrease in the cost of the technology (since 2010, the price of wind turbines has dropped by 40%) and increased demand due to decarbonization, in the next 10 years, 70% of new installed capacity will be wind and photovoltaic and, by 2050, 50% of electricity will be generated by wind and sun.
To support a green recovery that features wind, we are ready to invest in the acceleration of renewables, seizing new development opportunities for sustainable energy around the world and affirming our leading role in the global energy transition.
We will do this by promoting an acceleration plan for renewables in the next three years that calls for up to 4.7 GW of additional capacity a year, to increase the share of renewables in our overall growth and to enrich our offering, adapting it to the needs of new global clients.
A new life for wind
Our investment plan for the future of wind energy includes innovative projects for the reuse or recycling of wind turbines when they reach end-of-life. Wind farms are still young or under construction but we are already facing the issue: with the development of innovative projects we will be ready in the near future to turn everything into opportunities and be even more sustainable in every aspect of our business.
Thanks to these and other innovation projects, energy efficiency and the circular economy, we are ready to support the shift to the full use of green energies with even more determination. The wind and other sources of renewable energy pave the way to a fully sustainable future, for development that is more respectful to the environment and on a human scale.