In its annual report on global market trends, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reported that wind energy’s growth rate slowed slightly during 2000, with some 3,500 megawatts being installed worldwide as compared to 3,600 megawatts in 1999. The slightly slower rate was largely due to a temporary dip in the US market from 732 megawatts in 1999 to 53 megawatts in 2000, AWEA said. During 2000, European countries installed 3,200 megawatts of new wind generation, or about 90 percent of what was installed worldwide. More than half of that new growth was installed in Germany, which remains the world’s leader with 6,113 megawatts of total wind capacity. The US ranks second.
However, AWEA expects 2001 to be a banner year for wind, with as much as 2,000 megawatts of new capacity being installed in the US alone and global totals also surging as a result. In fact, the European Wind Energy Association has raised its goal for the region by 50 percent, from 40,000 megawatts of installed capacity by 2010 to 60,000 megawatts.
For more information, contact AWEA.
