February 2013

The Global Wind Energy Council 2012 market statistics show continued expansion of the market, with annual market growth of almost 10%, and cumulative capacity growth of about 19%. A record year for US installations and a slower market in China mean that the two countries all but tied for the top spot in 2012.

“While China paused for breath, both the US and European markets had exceptionally strong years”, said Steve Sawyer, Secretary General of the Global Wind Energy Council. “Asia still led global markets, but with North America a close second, and Europe not far behind”.

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March 2012

The wind industry installed over 41 GW of new clean, reliable wind power in 2011, bringing the total installed capacity globally to more than 238 GW at the end of last year. This represents an increase of 21%, with an increase in the size of the annual global market of just over 6%.  Today, about 75 countries worldwide have commercial wind power installations, with 22 of them already passing the 1 GW level.

For the second year running, the majority of new installations were outside the OECD, and new markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia are driving market growth. China has consolidated its position as global market leader, while India is also shown large growth in installed capacity. The US bounced back, Canada and in particular Ontario has emerged as a location for wind energy investment and Brazil is leading in Latin America. 

See the GWEC Global Wind Report 2011

March 2011

Nearly 36 GW of new wind power capacity was added around the world in 2010, and for the first time the majority of that new capacity was in developing countries and emerging economies; driven mainly by the booming wind sectors in China and India, but also with strong growth in Latin America, a wind resource-rich region on the cusp of a wind energy boom.

Although cumulative market growth was still a healthy 22.5 %, 2010 was a tough year for the industry, with the annual market decreasing for the first time in about two decades. Medium term consequences of the financial crisis and the economic slowdown finally took their toll, and very low orders in OECD countries at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 made themselves felt in the 2010 installation totals, particularly in the United States.

View the GWEC Global Wind Report 2010