15 June marks Global Wind Day 2019, the day when we celebrate the global benefits that wind energy is bringing to communities around the world – both for today and tomorrow. With the world moving from the era of fossil fuel-based energy towards an increasingly decarbonised energy supply, wind energy is growing at an unprecedented rate. Climate strikes, public protests and increased political drive against climate change is pushing wind energy to the forefront of the global conversation, and the wind industry has so much to offer for the future of communities, on local, regional, national and international scales.
Since 2014, the global wind market has been installing more than 50GW of new capacity each year. Total installed wind capacity worldwide reached 591 GW at the end of 2018, an increase of 9.6% compared to the end of 2017. New installations are expected to reach at least 55 GW per year, every year, until 2023.
Europe – the historical hub of wind energy – has exported its wind energy know-how and technology, with new markets emerging across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Significant future growth of global wind energy is expected to be driven by developing markets in South East Asia and the global offshore market.
The renewables-based electrification of three sectors – transport, heating and cooling, and industrial processes – is set to revolutionise the world’s energy mix. But the energy transition is not just about changing the energy mix: it is also about transforming communities. The wind industry brings new jobs and investment to areas where traditional industries (shipbuilding, coal regions, etc.) have declined. Households, as well as industrial and commercial energy consumers, all stand to benefit from embracing the clean power sourced from wind farms.
Taking place this year on Saturday, 15 June, Global Wind Day is a worldwide event celebrating the success of wind energy. Organised by WindEurope and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Global Wind Day also gives members of the public the chance to participate in the wind energy success story via the annual photo competition.
The Global Wind Day photo competition offers major cash prizes to participants the winners. The theme of the competition is “Future Wind”, and aims to show the world how wind energy can slash emissions, improve air quality and create thousands of jobs.
There are four photo categories in the competition: “People and Wind”, “Working in Wind”, “Beautiful Wind”, and “Beyond Wind”. Each of the four photo categories comes with a cash prize of €1,000. To determine the winners, the judges will be looking at the creativity, content, composition and technique as well as a compelling story behind the photographs.
Deadline for submissions: Wednesday, 5 June 2019 (23:55 CEST)
