March 13, 2006—Last year established new records for wind power, as 11,769 megawatts (MW) of wind turbines worth about $14 billion were installed throughout the world, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
Wind power grew at a 43 percent faster rate than in 2004, when 8,207 MW of wind power were installed., says GWEC. As of the end of 2005, the world’s total installed wind power capacity stands at 59,322 MW, a 25 percent increase over 2004.
The US installed the most new wind power capacity in 2005, but Germany still leads in terms of total installed wind capacity. Australia nearly doubled its wind power capacity in 2005, while Canadian wind power capacity grew by nearly 54 percent, and Asian wind power capacity grew by nearly 50 percent.
The Global Wind Energy Council is the global form for the wind energy sector, uniting the wind industry and its representative associations. For more information, visit the Web site.
