- 7 May 2008 -
Global wind energy market to reach 240 GW by 2012
THE BRUSSELS, Belgium, based Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) is forecasting that the global wind market will grow by over 155% to reach 240 GW of total installed capacity by 2012. In its Global Wind Energy Report 2007, GWEC has adjusted its previous forecast to take into account the unexpectedly strong increase in wind energy deployment around the world.
“The wind energy market continues to achieve tremendous growth rates, and has now hit 20 GW of new installations per year," says GWEC Secretary General Steve Sawyer. "As a result, we have had to revise even our most ambitious estimates. The fastest areas of growth for the next five years will be North America and Asia, and more specifically the US and China.”
The GWEC cites two reasons for this adjustment. Firstly, both the US and the Chinese market have been growing and will continue to grow at a much faster rate than expected even a year ago. Secondly, the emergence of significant manufacturing capacity in China will have a more important impact on the growth of the global markets. While tight production capacity is going to remain the main limiting factor of further market growth, machines ‘made in China’ will help take some of the strain out of the current supply situation.
Asia is predicted to overtake Europe as the biggest annual market, with as much as 12.5 GW of new wind generating capacity installed during the year 2012, up from 5.4 GW in 2007. This growth will be mainly led by China. By 2010, China is expected to be the biggest national annual market globally. This development is underpinned by a rapidly growing number of domestic manufacturers in China. In 2007, 40 domestic suppliers supplied 56% of the new installations in the Chinese market, up from 41% in 2006.
GWEC; www.gwec.net
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