The world market for wind turbines saw good growth in the first half of 2010 with about 16 GW of new capacity added worldwide. China represents the largest market and added 7,800 MW in only six months, reaching total installations of almost 34 GW. The USA, still number one in total capacity with 36 GW, saw a major decrease in the new installation rate and added only 1,200 MW, followed by India. The five major European markets showed similar growth: Germany added 660 MW, France and the UK 500 MW, Italy 450 MW and Spain 400 MW.
The total capacity of all wind turbines installed worldwide reached 175 GW in mid-2010, compared with 159 GW by the end of 2009. World Wind Energy Assn, (WWEA) expects the market for new turbines will reach between 35 and 40 GW in the 2010, close to 2009 when 38 GW were added. With this increase, the global capacity will reach almost 200 GW by the end of this year. With an expected total increase of 15 GW in the year 2010, China will most likely become number one country in terms of total capacity by the end of 2010, thus surpassing the U.S.
“The world market for wind turbines saw a slight slow-down in the first half of 2010,” says WWEA President Anil Kane. “However, there is still a robust development in many countries. Asian markets and especially China with its impressive growth continue to be main drivers of the world wind energy markets. Companies in Asian countries are now about to start exporting wind turbines and equipment on a larger scale. Such new manufacturing capacities will further speed the wind energy deployment worldwide, mainly for new markets in the developing world,” says Kane.
“The wind industry around the world has become a major player on the energy markets,” says WWEA Secretary General Stefan Gsanger. “However, the slowdown in some countries demonstrates that the success of wind power is not yet guaranteed. We urgently need further improvements in national legislation such as more comprehensive feed-in tariffs that also include access to the electricity grids and smooth building permission processes. To keep high social acceptance, special political consideration has to be given to models that involve local citizens. Furthermore, to bypass financing problems in developing countries, new international policies such as a Global Feed-in Tariff program should be adopted. We urge the governments to take such groundbreaking decisions during the UN Climate Conference in Cancún in December (2010).”
World Wind Energy Association
Filed Under: News, Policy