China has drastically increased its targets for wind power installations, aiming for 1.3 terawatt by 2030 and an ambitious 5 TW by 2060, a move hailed by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) as critical for global climate efforts. The “Beijing Declaration on Wind Energy 2.0”, unveiled recently at China Wind Power 2025, sets a goal for China’s cumulative wind power installed capacity to reach 1.3 TW by 2030, at least 2 TW by 2035 and 5 TW by 2060. China’s ambitious targets instill optimism that the world can meet its broader climate goals, said Ben Backwell, CEO of the GWEC. The new goals mark a substantial increase from the initial Beijing declaration in 2020, which had projected at least 800 gigawatt (GW) by 2030 and 3 TW by 2060, he added. The updated timeline is driven by China’s rapid wind power development, which has consistently surpassed previous expectations, he said. By 2024, China’s cumulative wind power capacity reached 520 GW, a 147.62% increase from 2019, with annual new installations consistently exceeding 60 GW since 2020, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).
Backwell said he was confident about China’s ability to exceed its new targets, noting a historical trend of outperformance, lauding China’s “incredible supply chain”, which he attributed to consistent policy and market volumes that have fostered a robust “industrial ecosystem”. “One thing that I find exciting about China is that every time we set a target, we actually go beyond the target. China always outperforms its targets, and that gives us confidence that we can reach the bigger global target,” he said. “China’s supply chain is extremely important, both in terms of components for the global wind energy and solar photovoltaic sectors. We’re expecting to see diversification of the supply chain as production moves locally into those regions,” Backwell said, envisioning a future where Chinese, European and other companies collectively contribute to a globalizing industrial presence, creating jobs and enhancing energy security worldwide. GWEC said that China’s success demonstrates that renewables can win without subsidies against fossil fuels, with clean energy now directly competing with coal, leading to the peaking and anticipated reduction of emissions in the country. “China is this kind of vast market where it was mainly coal, and we’re now going to see coal replaced by renewables. That’s going to show the rest of the world that this is possible,” Backwell said.
According to the Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA), Chinese wind turbine manufacturers have been accelerating their international expansion in recent years, having already exported equipment to 57 countries across six continents. Seven of these manufacturers have either established overseas production facilities or are in the process of doing so, it said. In recent years, wind power equipment manufacturers have also been stepping up efforts to introduce innovative AI-integrated solutions. Envision Energy, for example, has come up with the first global AI wind-storage integrated facility, which combines wind power generation and energy storage, functioning like a “smart electricity trader” and capable of increasing wind farm revenues by over 20%, the China Daily reports.
