Welwind Energy International Corp.(fka WWEI)

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Wind energy markets set to continue booming
10th April 2009

The 2009 industry forecast predicts that the world’s wind energy capacity will nearly triple in the next five years, following a decade of spectacular growth. The development will be led by tremendous growth in China and steady expansion in Europe and North America.

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) predicts that, in 2013, global wind generating capacity will stand at 332 GW, up from 120 GW at the end of 2008. During 2013, a generating capacity of 56,3 GW will be added, more than double the annual market in 2008. The year-on-year growth rates during this period will average 22%, which is modest compared with an average increase of 28% over the last ten years.

Three Main Markets

"China, Europe and US governments are turning the current crisis into an opportunity, putting wind power at the centre of their economic stimulus and recovery programmes," said Steve Sawyer, secretary-general of the GWEC. "This will create many thousands of jobs, improve energy security and help address the climate crisis

For the past several years, two markets have continuously outperformed the GWEC’s most optimistic expectations – the US and China. For the next year or two, developments in the US are expected to be hampered by a lack of financing and the overall economic downturn, before the stimulus package starts having a major impact on the market. At the same time, growth in China is set to continue at a breathtaking rate, driving a substantial increase in global wind energy installations in the coming years.

The continued expansion of global wind generation capacity is driven by three markets: China, Europe and the US. China has been doubling its installed capacity every year for the past four years, and growth is expected to continue at a tremendous rate. This development is underpinned by a very aggressive government policy supporting the diversification of the electricity supply, the growth of the domestic industry and making significant investments in transmission infrastructure. China is set to become the world’s largest market for new installations in 2009. In Asia overall, the total wind generating capacity is expected to reach 117 GW by 2013, up from just 24 GW in 2008.

Wind energy development in the US will see a small drop in 2009 as a result of tightening project finance. However, with the package of measures recently agreed to by the US Congress, and the prospect of national emissions reduction legislation, the market will quickly recover. Over the next five years, a total of 55 GW of wind power capacity will be added in North America, bringing the total to more than 82 GW.

"The 332 GW of global wind capacity we forecast for 2013 will produce 730 TWh of clean electricity and save 438-million tons of carbon dioxide every year,“ said Sawyer.

"This is the equivalent of displacing about 90 large coal-fired power stations, showing yet again the key role that wind energy can, and must, play in fighting climate change. Overall, wind power is well on track to saving a total of 1-billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2020.“

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/wind-energy-markets-set-to-continue-booming-2009-04-10
http://www.zeroemission.tv/Resource1/link_file/Global_Wind_2008_Report.pdf
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BWIND:IND



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