ABSTRACT
The story of the wind-power sector is one of remarkable growth on a global scale, punctuated by slowdowns and politically led stop–go cycles at the national level. Politically, the consensus around the need for concerted international action against climate change was stronger in the aftermath of the historic Paris agreement in late 2015, and this consensus was proving highly resilient despite the decision by the Trump Administration to withdraw from the Agreement in June 2017. Public support for wind power is stronger than ever – especially among young people, despite moves by some politicians to further special interests by attacking the technology with spurious arguments. China is making the big investments in large-scale equipment manufacturing and enabling technologies like grid. The degree to which markets and policy frameworks facilitate or hinder the development of the industry going forward depends on ability to convince policy makers to grasp the opportunity that wind power represents.
