US seizes wind power crown

The US has officially overtaken Germany as the world's largest producer of wind energy following a record-breaking 2008 in which the country's wind capacity increased by a staggering 50 per cent.

According to figures released last week by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the US installed 8.4GW of capacity last year giving it a total of over 25GW, compared to just under 24GW in Germany.

The US led a bumper year for the global wind energy industry in which investment in turbine installations topped $47bn and worldwide wind energy capacity grew almost 29 per cent, even higher than the average over the last decade.

"These figures speak for themselves: there is huge and growing global demand for emissions-free wind power, which can be installed quickly, virtually everywhere in the world," said Steve Sawyer, Secretary General of GWEC. "Wind energy is the only power generation technology that can deliver the necessary cuts in CO2 in the critical period up to 2020, when greenhouse gasses must peak and begin to decline to avoid dangerous climate change."

While the US took the crown as the world's largest wind energy market other regions also enjoyed record breaking years.

Close to a third of all new capacity installed in 2008 was located in Asia with China doubling its installed capacity to over 12GW. The country is now on track to overtake Germany as the second largest producer of wind power next year and should meet its 2020 target of 30 GW of installed capacity ten years ahead of time.

The country has also seen continued investment in new turbine manufacturing capacity and is poised to step up exports to Europe, Japan and the US.

"Now, the supply is starting to not only satisfy domestic demand, but also meet international needs, especially for components,” said Li Junfeng, Secretary General of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industry Association (CREIA). "In 2009, Chinese companies will start to enter the UK and Japanese markets, and orders for 200 blades have already been placed. There are also ambitions for exploring the US market in the coming years."

Europe also added almost 8.9.GW of new capacity throughout 2008 taking total capacity up to nearly 66 GW. According to the European Wind Energy Association wind is now the leading power source for new energy capacity with wide range of countries joining established markets such as Germany and Denmark in developing ambitious wind energy investment programmes.

However, GWEC warned growth rates are likely top slow as the global economic crisis leads to project delays and cancellations.

Denise Bode, chief executive of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), said that government support was required to ensure the industry continues to expand.

"The US wind energy industry turned in a record-shattering performance in 2008, establishing wind as one of the leading sources of new electricity generation in the country and a job creation dynamo," she said. "At the same time, it is clear that the economic and financial downturn have begun to take a serious toll on new wind development. We look forward to working with President Obama and the new Congress on policies to restore the industry’s vital momentum and achieve President Obama’s goal of doubling renewable energy production in three years."