The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) has released its 2012 report on growth in the global wind power sector which reveals that the UK currently dominates the offshore wind segment. UK offshore wind now represents 74 percent of the offshore wind market compared to 46 percent in 2011, having added 1,423MW of offshore wind turbines. More than a third of turbines in the UK have been installed offshore.
Overall, along with Sweden, the UK’s growth in wind turbine installation is substantially above the average the report states. The country is now the second largest European market for wind turbines having overtaken Spain and Italy. The UK, along with Italy and France continue to operate as medium-sized markets with a total capacity of between 7.5GW and 8.5GW. Poland, Romania and Sweden occupy the major market slots for the sector.
However, the report also shows that the global wind power market has slowed somewhat. At 19.2 percent growth, it is the lowest annual rate in a decade although 2012 did in fact see a record number of new turbine installations. The fastest rate of growth in the sector has occurred in Eastern Europe (Romania and Ukraine) and South America (Argentina and Brazil). The ‘big five’ nations are China, the US, Germany, Spain and India.
Denmark has performed the best in terms of installed capacity per country size with its plan to source 50 percent of its electricity from wind by 2020. This has placed the country at the forefront of clean development over the last few years. In total, Europe has the majority of wind farms at 38 percent of global wind capacity but the report says that Asia is likely to take over in 2013. Worldwide, at least 100 countries are now deploying wind power with Iceland becoming the 100th nation to do so in 2012.
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