Electricity and Control June 2025

Renewable energy + industrial sustainability

This year’s guide to the wind industry is out now. The Global Wind Energy Council’s Market Intelligence team brings together data that is not available elsewhere, and the Policy Team presents analysis of the main challenges facing the wind industry and explores solutions to them. The report also includes a Markets to Watch section with details on the key markets, and insights from leading industry figures. Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, says: “We hope you will enjoy reading this year’s Global Wind Report as much as the GWEC team has enjoyed writing it. This year’s report finds the industry delivered another record year of new capacity in 2024 but also sees an industry ready to deliver much more. We look forward to working with all stakeholders, alongside our partners in governments and key institutions around the world, to navigate the challenges investigated in this report, and maximise the benefits of wind technology for people in every region of the world.” A record-breaking 117 GW installed in 2024 The 2025 Global Wind Report captures a pivotal moment for the wind energy sector. With 117 GW installed in 2024, wind power is advancing into new geographies and consolidating its position as a core pillar of the global energy transition. Yet, this momentum is not enough. To deliver the full benefits of wind energy and align with the COP28 agreement to triple global renewable capacity by 2030, wind deployment must scale up rapidly. Overview The report assesses where the industry stands today, highlighting new legislative wins and market expansion, confronting critical challenges like macroeconomic pressures, fragmented trade, supply chain misalignment, and disinformation. The report sets out a roadmap to overcome these barriers, backed by a clear call to action. With supportive policies, collaborative planning, and targeted investment, wind energy can scale up rapidly to unlock economic growth, energy security, and a clean energy future. A representative power profile One of the other valuable outcomes of my research was the development of a representative PV power generation profile for South Africa. This was achieved by weighting the contributions from the eleven Renewable Energy Development Zones (REDZ) across the country, against the expected deployment of PV according to the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019. The resultant profile blends these contributions to create a profile reflecting the anticipated future solar generation. This new profile is based on the most cost-e”ective solution identified in the simulations (single-axis trackers with mono-facial modules) and provides a revised profile that forms a more reliable basis for future energy planning. It is a step towards ensuring that our long-term energy forecasts are grounded in the realities of the technologies we are using. The journey of exploring PV tracking choices has underscored the importance of aligning our energy planning with the latest technological and market advances As South Africa moves GWEC’s Global Wind Report 2025

towards decarbonisation, our long-term planning should reflect realistic predictions, rather than solely historical data or outdated assumptions. The transition to renewable energy is about adopting innovative technologies and – importantly – making informed decisions that will shape the sustainability of the country’s energy systems for decades to come. In the case of utility-scale PV power plants, that means ensuring representative profiles are used when completing long-term planning simulations. Note The insights shared here are based on Shaniel Lakhoo’s master’s degree project and follow the conference proceedings around the work he presented at the 2024 EEEIC International Conference on Environment and Electrical Engineering [https://www.eeeic.net/] that took place in Rome.

For more information visit: www.wsp.com

Renewable energy + industrial sustainability: Products + services

Key recommendations The 2025 report presents a call to action: governments, industry and civil society need to work together to accelerate wind energy deployment at scale. To achieve this, GWEC urges specific steps, as outlined below. ƒ Create demand certainty: Reform auctions, align procurement with national targets, and provide long-term revenue visibility. ƒ De-risk investment: Use incentives like tax credits, reduce per mitting delays, and implement investor-friendly policies in emerging markets. ƒ Industrialise for scale: Standardise turbine components, em brace modular manufacturing, and automate production to boost e”iciency and resilience. ƒ Enable fair trade: Replace protectionist measures with coordi nated, trade-friendly green industrial policies. ƒ Modernise infrastructure: Expand and digitise grid systems, ac celerate interconnection, and integrate flexibility solutions. ƒ Build social licence: Counter disinformation with transparent, community-led engagement, benefit-sharing schemes, and lo cal ownership models. This roadmap lays the foundation to scale from today’s growth trajectory to the 320 GW per year needed by 2030 – unlocking wind’s full value for economies, people and the planet.

The 2025 Global Wind Report is now available to download. [Source: GWEC]

For more information visit: www.gwec.net/reports/globalwindreport

JUNE 2025 Electricity + Control

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