Global Energy Monitor

Maps

What do the colored dots mean?

The colors indicate the status category:

  • Announced: Proposed projects that have been described in corporate or government plans or media releases but have not yet taken concrete steps such as applying for permits.
  • Pre-construction: Projects that are actively moving forward in seeking governmental approvals, land rights, or financing.
  • Construction: Site preparation and equipment installation are underway.
  • Shelved: Suspension of operation has been announced, or no progress has been observed for at least two years.
  • Cancelled: A cancellation announcement has been made, or no progress has been observed for at least four years.
  • Operating: The project has been formally commissioned; commercial operation has begun.
  • Mothballed: The project is disused, but not dismantled.
  • Retired: The project has been decommissioned.
How accurate are locations?

Each wind phase location is marked “exact” or “approximate.” In the case of exact coordinates, locations are either specifically identified on a mapping service such as Google Maps, Open Street Maps, etc., or gathered from company or government documentation. If the location of a wind farm or proposal is not known, Global Energy Monitor identifies the most accurate location possible based on available information.

What do the numbers in the circles mean?

The numbers tell the number of phases at each location. To find information on each phase, click on the number, then select one of the colored dots.

I’ve zoomed in, but don’t see a power plant. Why?

If a project is still in the pre-operational phases (announced, pre-construction, or construction), there may be no sign of activity. In other cases, only approximate location information could be found. Finally, satellite photos in some geographies are updated infrequently, so recent activity is not shown.

How do I find out if a location is exact or approximate?

Location accuracy improves as plants move from early stages of development toward operation. To find out the coordinates of a location and whether a location is exact or approximate, click on the location dot, select the wiki page, and look under “Project Details.”

Coverage

What wind projects does the tracker include?

The objective of the tracker is to provide information on utility-scale, electricity generating wind farm phases with capacities of 10 megawatts (MW) or more. The tracker includes every wind farm phase at this capacity threshold of any status, including operating, announced, pre-construction, under construction, shelved, cancelled, mothballed, or retired. We have also begun including smaller projects for some countries, these data are only viewable in the downloadable dataset.

How do you define capacity?

Capacity is measured in megawatts, and refers to the collective nameplate capacity of the wind farm phase.

Can you explain the difference between “phases” and “projects”?

A wind farm phase is generally defined as a group of one or more wind turbines that are installed under one permit, one power purchase agreement, and typically come online at the same time. A wind farm project can be composed of several phases, or just a single phase.

Improving the Tracker

What if I find an error or a missing project?

Please fill out an error report here.

Credits

Who built this tool?

The tracker was designed and produced by Global Energy Monitor, a network of researchers seeking to develop collaborative informational resources on fossil fuel impacts and alternatives.

How do I cite this data?

Please refer to the Download Data page for citation guidance.