Amongst the individual countries, China kept its strong position reached a similar amount like in the previous year 2010: China installed around 18 GW of new wind turbines within 2011, coming to a total capacity of 63 GW, more than one fourth of the global wind capacity. The second largest market for new wind turbines was again the USA with 6,8 GW, followed by India (2,7 GW), Germany (2 GW) and a surprisingly strong Canada with 1,3 GW of new installed capacity. Spain, France and Italy added each around 1 GW.
A strong increase in wind power utilization can be observed especially in the emerging markets, like China, India, Brazil, and Mexico. This opens new windows for further growth, as these countries do have an increasing need for electricity which can be matched by wind power in a very economic, safe and timely way. On the other hand, several of the European markets showed stagnation or even decrease. The US market presented itself stronger than in 2010, however, the mid-term prospects are not very bright, due to a lack of clarity regarding the political support schemes. In Canada, especially Ontario with its Green Energy Act, adopted as a consequence of the WWEC2008, made sure that the country now finds itself as number five in terms of new capacity.
WWEA President Dr. He Dexin: "Wind power has become – as a low-cost, low-risk and non-polluting energy option – a pillar of the energy supply in many countries. These countries have been able to create new industries and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Other countries should learn from this experience and also set up the right policies. Especially to enable the poorest countries also to participate in and benefit from wind power utilization, the world community should create special financing tools and funds, such as the Global Green Climate Fund and a global feed-in tariff programme, as suggested by WWEA and the International Renewable Energy Alliance."
WWEA Secretary General Stefan Gsänger: "Although we can observe a recovery of the overall market, the slow-down in some of the industrialized countries, in conjunction with uncertainties about future policies, is a matter of major concern. We call especially on the government of Spain to revise its recent suspension of the support schemes for renewable energy and to continue its leadership role in wind power deployment. Another crucial topic for the future success of wind power is public support. To maximize this, policies should ensure and enable community involvement so that local communities benefit directly from wind farms in their vicinity."
Wind power in MW
Country – 2011
China 62733
USA 46919
Germany 29060
Spain 21674
India 16084
France 6800
Italy 6747
United Kingdom 6540
Canada 5265
Portugal 4083
Denmark 3871
Sweden 2907
Japan 2501
Netherlands 2328
Australia 2224
Turkey 1799
Ireland 1631
Greece 1629
Poland 1616
Brazil 1509
Austria 1084
Belgium 1078
Romania 982
Mexico 873
New Zealand 622
Bulgaria 612
Taiwan 564
Egypt 550
Norway 520
South Korea 407
Hungary 329
Morocco 291
Czec Republic 217
Chile 205
Finland 197
Estonia 184
Lithuania 179
Ukraine 151
Cyprus 134
Costa Rica 132
Croatia 131
Argentina 130
Honduras 102
Iran 91
Armenia 90
Nicaragua 60
Switzerland 46
Luxembourg 44
Dominican Republic 33
Philippines 33
Latvia 31
Jamaica 30
Vietnam 30
Cape Verde 24
South Africa 22
Uruguay 21
Colombia 20
Libya 20
Tunisia 20
Russia 17
Guyana 14
Sri Lanka 14
Fiji 10
Cuba 7
Israel 6
Pakistan 6
Azerbaijan 5
Kenya 5
Ecuador 4
Faroe Islands 4
Slovakia 3
Vanuatu 3
Bangladesh 2
Belarus 2
Jordan 2
Mongolia 2
Nigeria 2
Saint Kitts and Nevis 2
Eritrea 1
Grenada 1
Indonesia 1
Mauritius 1
Namibia 1
Peru 1
Other 26
Total 238,351 MW
Year-GW
1980- 0,01
1981 -0,02
1982- 0,09
1983- 0,21
1984 -0,60
1985 -1,00
1986 -1,30
1987 -1,50
1988 -1,60
1989 -1,70
1990 -1,90
1991 -2,20
1992 -2,50
1993 -3,00
1994 -3,50
1995 -4,80
1996 -6,10
1997 -7,60
1998 -10,20
1999 -13,60
2000 -17,40
2001 -23,90
2002 -31,10
2003 -39,40
2004 -47,60
2005 -59,10
2006 -74,10
2007 -94,10
2008 -121,30
2009 -158,10
2010 -197,60
2011 -238,40
By José Santamarta, www.wwindea.org
