The latest figures from the Brussels based Global Wind Energy Council show that total global wind capacity has risen to 432.42 gigawatts, with China leading the way. This gives wind a slight edge over the 382.55 gigawatts of nuclear capacity according to the London based World Nuclear Association.
In 2015 alone, the wind industry added 63.01 gigawatts of generating capacity – equivalent to about 60 nuclear power stations.
The key word here is “capacity” – whereas nuclear plants can run at close to capacity all the time, wind never does simply because the wind is not blowing (or not blowing at the correct speed) everywhere at all times.
This said, the abundance and relatively low cost of wind power compared to nuclear suggests that governments – like the UK – that opt for nuclear instead of wind are making a grave mistake.