Brazil will have more wind power capacity installed by 2022 than all other Latin America nations combined

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 1.5GW 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 20.1GW by 2022, more than all the other nations of Latin America combined.

“Eight auction rounds since 2009 have awarded more than 8.5GW of wind power contracts in Brazil, which secures a robust development cycle for at least the next five years,” said Feng Zhao, research director with Navigant Research. “Brazil’s Minister of Energy believes that the country can reach 10GW of wind power installations by 2017 – eight 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 9GW of installed capacity by 2022, the firm said. Wind capacity as of the beginning of 2013 represented only 2.5% of the country’s generation total, which is low for a country with a renewable energy target calling for 35% of the country’s electricity to come from renewables by 2024,