Global Wind Capacity Increased 21% in 2011

According to a press release from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) in Belgium, “the wind industry installed just over 41,000 MW [megawatts] of new clean, reliable wind power in 2011, bringing the total installed capacity globally to more than 238,000 MW at the end of last year.” The 2011 installations marked a 21% increase in wind power capacity. According to the release, there are roughly 75 countries with wind power installations and 22 that have more than 1 gigawatt of capacity.

Of the 238,000 megawatts worldwide, China has a total in excess of 62,000, making it the leader as measured by megawatts installed. China’s neighbor to the south, and population doppleganger, India, added 3,000 MW last year to bring its cumulative production capability to more than 16,000 MW.

The European Union (EU) continues to be a strong supporter of wind power. Germany’s announcement last year that they would forgo nuclear power puts the industry in a position of strength as the country will look to renewables like wind to generate more electricity. All told, the EU installed an additional 9,616 MW of wind energy, bringing its total to 93,957 MW. The GWEC reports that this supplies 6.3% of the EU’s needs.

In the Americas, the US wind industry installed more than 6,800 MW in the past year. Canada surpassed 5,000 MW in 2011. As a whole, Latin America added in excess of 1,200 MW, with nearly half the growth coming from Brazil, which was responsible for 587 MW of new installations.

[Image source: Oast House Archive]