Survey Puts China at the Forefront of Wind Energy Market

An annual wind survey conducted jointly by the Global Wind Energy Council and Greenpeace International expects China to surpass Germany as the leading wind energy country by the end of 2009. The top countries in installed capacity at the end of 2007 were Germany (22.3 GW), the United States (16.8 GW), Spain (15.1 GW), India (7.8 GW) and China (5.9 GW).

According to the report, China added 3.3 GW in 2007, representing growth of 145 percent over 2006. Domestic manufacturing capacity in China is about 8 GW and is expected to reach 12 GW by 2010. The country had 40 wind component manufacturers at the end of 2007, accounting for about 56 percent of the global wind equipment installed that year.

The global wind industry spent $37 billion to install a record 20 GW of new capacity in 2007 to reach 93.8 GW, led by the United States, Spain and China. Analysts say wind power could produce 12 percent of the world's energy needs and prevent 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions within 12 years. The report also states that wind energy could account for 30 percent of the world's electricity by 2050. For more information on the survey, visit the Global Wind Energy Council at www.gwec.net.