Make's most recent wind power outlook for Middle East and Africa forecasts nearly 40GW of new wind power capacity to be added in the region from 2017 to 2026, with a compounded annual growth rate of 22%. The growth in wind is supported by tremendous wind resources as well as an increase in experience and best practices across the value chain, which will result in a gradual reduction in the LCOE of wind power (an average across the region of -15% from 2017 to 2022).
Wind power capacity added in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) in 2016 amounted to 676MW, representing a slight 0.8% decrease compared to the 682MW added in 2015. The cumulative capacity in MEA reached 4.2GW at year end 2016. 91.3% of the cumulative capacity, or 3.8GW, was installed in Africa, led by South Africa with 1.5GW, followed by Morocco (892MW) and Egypt (755MW). Installed capacity in the Middle East accounts for approximately 8.7% of total cumulative capacity in MEA by year end 2016, with 369MW installed largely in Jordan and Iran.