Brussels - A record 20,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power were installed world-wide in 2007, with the United States, Spain and China providing the biggest annual increases, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), a Brussels-based industry lobby, said Wednesday. Wind mills now provide more than 94,000 MW of energy around the world - up from 74,133 MW in 2006. In economic terms, the 2007 increase was worth an estimated 25 billion euros (36 billion dollars).
"The growth rates we are experiencing in wind energy continue to exceed our most optimistic expectations," GWEC Secretary General Steve Sawyer said in a statement.
The US alone installed a record 5,244 MW in 2007, raising its overall total to 16,818 MW.
The US has now overtaken Spain as the world's second-largest producer of wind energy, and the GWEC now expects it to replace Germany as the world leader by the end of next year. Germany added 1,667 MW in 2007, raising its total to 22,247 MW.
Spain posted the second-biggest year-on-year growth - 3,522 MW - while China added 3,499 MW of wind energy capacity, raising its overall total to 6,050 MW.
China now ranks fifth overall, one place behind India, and forecasts suggest capacity in that country will reach around 50,000 MW by 2015.
"Globally, wind energy has become a mainstream energy source and an important player in the world's energy markets, and it now contributes to the energy mix in more than 70 countries across the globe," Sawyer noted.
