For the second month in a row, a leading American research and consulting firm that analyses global clean technology markets has released a report forecasting a robustly healthy future for the wind energy sector.

Conducted by Pike Research, the latest report claims that wind power installations by 2017 will represent a €113 billion global industry, up from €57 billion in 2011.

Over that period, the report added, the cumulative investment in new wind power capacity will total €606 billion.

Germany, the UK, Spain and France will install the most wind power capacity between 2011 and 2020 in Europe, new statistics show. Up until 2011, 15% of new capacity will be installed in Germany, 14% in the UK, 13% in Spain and 12% in France.

These statistics, contained in the European Wind Energy Association’s Pure Power report, show a more diverse picture than the early days of modern wind power which saw Denmark, Germany and Spain with a clear wind power lead over the rest of Europe.

Cross-posted from the Estonian Wind Power Association’s blog – November 11, 2011

If you type green, clean, modern, renewable or wind energy into a Google images search the results are mainly images of wind power plants and farms, said Werner Nystrand, the Swedish photographer, who spoke at last month’s Wind Power Conference in Tallinn and who takes breathtakingly beautiful pictures of wind power plants and their surroundings.

Everybody knows the symbols of Paris and Sydney – Eiffel Tower and Opera House. And today everybody also knows the symbol of clean energy – a wind turbine. These symbols are easy to draw and therefore easy to remember and people relate them to emotions and values. These values and emotions are not actually in the symbol but through cultural impressions we associate these values with the symbol.

Environmental organisations and electricity operators are backing the modernisation and expansion of European power grids to unlock the full potential of renewables.

In a letter sent to Günther Oettinger, European commissioner for energy, nine national grid operators, 10 environmental organisations – including BirdLife International and WWF – and five other organisations said they backing the European Commission’s energy infrastructure plans published last month.

“Fossil fuels got six times more aid than clean energy, IEA says” – Bloomberg

“World headed for irreversible climate change in five years, IEA warns” – Guardian

“IEA warns on global energy policies” – Financial Times

These are just three of the headlines on the International Energy Agency’s 2011 World Energy Outlook published on Wednesday and widely reported by the world’s media.