US Leads in New Wind Energy Developments
by Eric Kane, New York, NY on 02.15.07
According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), 2006 was another banner year for new wind energy developments. In a recent report, the GWEC announced that the total amount of installed wind energy capacity increased from 59,901 megawatts (MW) in 2005 to 74,223 MW in 2006. This data includes wind energy developments in more than 70 countries around the world. In general, 2006 delivered a 32% growth in the wind energy market compared to 41% in 2005. The GWEC estimates the economic value of this additional capacity to be $23 billion.
The GWEC reports that Germany continues to lead the world with 20,621 MW of installed capacity followed by Spain, the United States, India and Denmark. While, the US led in 2006 with respect to new wind developments. Although, the future of climate change legislation remains uncertain in many parts of the world, one can hope that increasing demand will allow these trends to continue into the future.
