A new report by Navigant Research estimates the U.S. wind energy market will grow by 48.7 GW between 2018 and 2027, boosting copper demand 25% by 2020.
The report, commissioned by the Copper Development Association (CDA), estimates copper demand for wind energy will peak at 48,358 tons in 2020, an increase from 38,453 tons in 2018.
Additionally, the report shows that the U.S.’s expanding development of offshore wind, with a forecast growth of 11.1% from 2017-2022, compared to single-digit growth rates for onshore wind. Offshore wind requires significantly more copper at an estimated 21,076 lbs. per MW (41% higher than that of U.S. onshore wind).
“This new report shows that the U.S. is in the early stage of a major acceleration in wind farm construction,” said Zolaikha Strong, CDA’s director of energy policy and electrical markets. “This growing form of renewable energy will impact the copper market significantly, using five times more copper than conventional, fossil and nuclear energy-generating facilities.”
Source: Windpowerengineering.com