London, July 2010

In 2009, wind power contributed around 2% to global electricity consumption, continuing to break records. Global wind energy markets are expected to continue their rapid growth, with the world’s wind power capacity increasing by 160% over the coming five years, according to the annual industry forecast presented by the Global Wind Energy Council. GWEC expects that the global installed wind capacity will reach 409 GW by 2014, up from 158.5 GW at the end of 2009. This assumes an average growth rate of 21% per year – conservative compared to the 29% average growth that the wind industry experienced over the past decade.

By Guy Isherwood; WorldPower