EU-DIGEST

US wind energy market strongest market in the world for the fourth time in succession

In Berlin, the German Wind Energy Association (Bundesverband WindEnergie, BWE) and the Association of German Machinery and Plant Manufacturers (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, VDMA) announced that the US market is the strongest market in the world for the fourth time in succession with approximately 8000 to 9000 MW of newly installed capacity (2007: 5244 MW). It will also continue to maintain its leadership role due to the climate package intended by the new US Administration, which provides for a doubling of renewable energy sources in the next three years. The associations also announced that the German market has maintained a steady level in 2008 amidst a continually growing world market. According to the current statistics from the German Wind Energy Institute (Deutsches Windenergie-Institut, DEWI), the domestic market saw 866 (2007: 883) new wind turbines with a capacity of 1,665 (2007: 1,667) megawatts (MW) installed in 2008. With that, the addition of new systems moved at the level of the previous year. There were a total of 20,301 wind turbines with an overall capacity of 23,902 MW installed in Germany by the end of 2008. It is also forecast that the world wind industry will show double-digit growth this year and next year.

Labels: Alternative Energy, EU, Germany, Global Economy, USA, Wind Industry