Wind Power- An Energy Source with Potential

Wind energy is currently the domain of developed or rapidly developing regions. The technologies used- like offshore technology (with turbines on the open sea)- will accentuate this trend over the short term. Germany is the leading country in Europe in this sphere. The United States and China have high medium-term potential.

Half of Production Capacity in Europe

In late 2009, wind production capacity worldwide reached 158 GW, ten times more than in 2000. While Europe currently has half of all installed capacity, the most significant increase in production facilities is in China, which has 16% of installed capacity.

Germany- The Wind in its Sails

In Europe, which has 48% of installed capacity, Germany is the leading producer of wind-derived electricity.

[1] Source: Global wind energy council: http://www.gwec.net/fileadmin/documents/PressReleases/PR_2010/Annex%20stats%20PR%202009.pdf
[2] Source: European wind energy association (which represents 600 industrial stakeholders in almost 60 countries) http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/statistics/general_stats_2009.pdf