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Chart showing global installed wind energy capacity by Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog, Creative Commons Attribution. Data from World Wind Energy Association, for installed Mega Watts of global wind power capacity._________________________
Globally 27,339 MW of capacity were added in 2008, bringing the total to 121,188 MW, a 29% increase. The graph shows the top 10 producers (with the exceptions of Denmark and Portugal) and includes Japan (which is 13th).
In 2007, Europe had for 61% of installed capacity and the USA 18%. At the end of 2008 Europe had 55% of installed capacity, North America 23%, Asia 20%, Australia 1.5%, Latin America .6% and Africa .5%. Country shares of global capacity at the end of 2008: USA 21%, Germany 20%, Spain 14%, China 10%, India 8% (those 5 countries account for 73% of global capacity).
USA capacity grew 50% in 2008, moving it into the global lead for the first time in a decade. China grew 107%, the 3rd year in a row it more than doubled capacity.
Related: Wind Power Provided Over 1% of Global Electricity in 2007 – USA Wind Power Installed Capacity 1981 to 2005 – Wind Power has the Potential to Produce 20% of Electricity by 2030 – Top 12 Manufacturing Countries in 2007
May 6th, 2009 at 7:22 am
USA’s wind energy installation is increasing big time.I hope their solar instalation will be the same soon.
May 9th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Yes, but this stuff is so expensive and spacious. We need Cost effective energy from Nuclear power. Sure it will take a load off, but we can’t expect much from these sources. I’m not against any alternative energy source as long as it’s not from oil or coal, but need to be thinking about a massive take over from an alternative source which I don’t think wind or solar power can handle. Remember that the demand for energy is increasing as well. I don’t think wind or sun power will realistically be able to keep up.
May 19th, 2009 at 4:17 am
I would say that nuclear power is a fast and profitable way of getting energy. But, we surely need to combine different sources as natural ones are not for years.
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
[...] This is another smart move by China, in my opinion. With the huge amount of cash they are holding, I would rather hold more of it as crude than dollars. And stockpiling the crude also protects the domestic demand from supply shocks. I would also take other steps they are taking, like investing heavily in adding wind power capacity. [...]
November 6th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Wind power and solar power are on the rise in the US with many city and individual projects. What they ALL share is a need to store the energy for later use. The Generator is wind, solar, biodiesel, but the solution is in the genverter systems used to store and retrieve this clean power!