India's wind power increase world's third largest

Bali, Dec 9 - India was the world's top third country in terms of added wind power capacity last year with the global annual investment in renewable energy expected to exceed $100 billion by end-2007, says Ren21, a renewable energy policy network for the 21st century.

'India was number three globally in added wind power capacity in 2006,' Virginia Sonntag-O'Brien of Ren21 told IANS on the sidelines of the UN conference on climate change here.

About a month before the publication of the Ren21 global status report on renewable energy, Sonntag-O'Brien praised Indian states that had mandated blending biofuels with conventional vehicle fuels.

Worldwide, annual biofuel production will exceed 50 billion litres this year, about three percent of the global petrol and diesel consumption.

Wind power has continued to grow at 25-30 percent per year since 2000 and now receives the largest share of annual investments among renewable sources of energy, she added. 'It will reach at least 93 GW cumulative capacity in 2007, up from just 7.5 GW in 1997.'

Among the various renewable sources of energy being promoted to replace the use of fossil fuels that lead to the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and global warming, small hydropower, biomass power and geothermal power are still relatively minor contributors, Sonntag-O'Brien said.

Rooftop solar energy collectors now provide hot water to over 50 million households worldwide. China accounts for 80 percent of the global market for solar hot water collectors. Sonntag-O'Brien said solar water heating and biofuels are growing at 15-20 percent annual rates.

In terms of adding wind power capacity, India's third position is behind that of the US and Germany.

China has focussed on small hydroelectric projects and the country now accounts for more than half the world's power generation from this source.

Sonntag-O'Brien predicted that these trends are set to continue, 'as the costs of renewable energy technologies continue to decline and as the renewable energy industry continues to diversify production and technology development.

'With over 2.5 million jobs in the renewable energy industry and strong rural development benefits as well, they contribute to economic development, energy security and improving the local environment on top of helping mitigate climate change.'

(Joydeep Gupta can be contacted at joydeep.g@ians.in)

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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