The global wind industry installed over 51GW of new capacity last year, a slight decrease on the 53GW brought online in 2017, according to new figures.
The Global Wind Energy Council said the 2018 haul was led by onshore wind, which added 46.8GW, also a fall on the prior 12 months when 48.7GW was completed.
Developing markets such as Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa were among the bright spots for the industry, with 4.8GW coming online in these regions, according to early findings from the Global Wind Report, which is due to be published next month.
Offshore wind added 4.5GW, a shave higher than in 2017, to bring total installed capacity to 23GW.
China led the way for the first time with 1.8GW, the UK added 1.3GW and Germany 900MW, the GWEC data showed.
“GWEC forecasts that offshore wind will become an increasingly global market,” the organisation said.
“If governments remain committed, and projects and investments continue, annual installations in Asia could reach 5GW or more each year. In the US, GWEC expects the developing offshore wind market to reach 1GW by 2022-2023.”
Total installed wind capacity at the end of 2018 stood at 591GW.
GWEC meanwhile forecasts that global new installations will reach 55GW every year until 2023, led by stable volume from mature markets like Europe and the US.
Chief executive Ben Backwell said: “2018 was a positive year for wind in all major markets, with China leading both onshore and offshore growth.”
He added: “We expect huge growth in Asia through the coming decade and beyond as part of the continuing shift from Europe to Asia as the driving region for wind development. However, government support and policy are key to enabling faster market growth in key regions such as South East Asia.”