Latin America has become one of the hottest growth markets for the wind energy industry. Wind power development in Brazil, in particular, is growing rapidly and will provide the bulk of Latin America’s wind market in the coming years.
By 2016, Brazil could see yearly installations top 1.5 gigawatts (GW) as the pipeline of contracted projects comes online and transmission is constructed to connect the plants.
According to a recent report from Navigant Research, cumulative installed wind power capacity in Brazil will reach 20.1 GW by 2022, more than all the other nations of Latin American combined.
“Eight auction rounds since 2009 have awarded more than 8.5 GW of windpower contracts in Brazil, which secures a robust development cycle for at least the next 5 years,” says Feng Zhao, research director with Navigant Research. “Brazil’s Minister of Energy believes that the country can reach 10 GW of wind power installations by 2017 – 8 years ahead of the original plan.”
The next-largest market for wind power in Latin America will be Mexico, which is expected to have nearly 9 GW of installed capacity by 2022, according to the report. Wind capacity as of the beginning of 2013 represented only 2.5 percent of the country’s generation total, which is low for a country with a renewable energy target calling for 35 percent of the country’s electricity to come from renewables by 2024.
The report, “Latin America Wind Market Assessment,” provides a comprehensive view of the wind energy market dynamics at play in 15 wind power markets in Latin America. The country-by-country analysis outlines the key energy policies and development opportunities and barriers, identifies which companies own operational wind plants, and examines the competitive landscape for wind turbine vendors supplied those projects. Market forecasts for wind power installations, capacity, and market share in Latin America, segmented by country and company, extend through 2022. The report also offers a close analysis of Brazil and Mexico, the region’s largest wind markets, and examines the emerging wind supply chain and subcomponent manufacturers. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.