Africa, Middle East could more than double onshore wind by 2023

After two years with lower installations, the regions have almost reached similar levels as in 2015 (983 MW). The figures – drawn from GWEC’s forthcoming annual Global Wind Report – forecast a further capacity increase of 6.5 GW by 2023. There is currently a total of 5.7 GW of onshore wind capacity installed across both regions. 

Egypt was the top onshore wind market in Africa and the Middle East last year, with a total of 380 MW installed. Siemens Gamesa is involved in a number of large projects in the country, most notably at the Gulf of Suez wind farm, where it is currently installing 125 of its1 MW turbines.  

To date, Siemens Gamesa has installed more than 890 MW of onshore wind capacity in Egypt. The 262 MW Gulf of Suez project is expected to be operational by the end of this year. Egypt’s government has set renewable energy targets of 20% of the electricity mix by 2022 and 42% by 2035.

Kenya was the second largest onshore wind market in Africa and the Middle East last year, with 310 MW added when the Lake Turkana wind farm began exporting power to the grid in September. The project, the single largest private investment in the country’s history, covers 160 km2 and comprises 365 turbines.   

With 120 MW installed, Morocco was the third-largest onshore wind market in the region in 2018. According to GWEC, the Middle East is likely to make significant strides in the coming years, as countries in the region have recently started to make significant investments in wind power production.