The Market

Wind energy is a booming international growth industry. Global sales of wind turbines reached US$ 9 billion in 2004. At current growth rates, the value of the market is expected to increase five times by 2010.

Over the past ten years the capacity of wind turbines installed globally has been expanding at an average of 20% each year. From just 2,500 megawatts in 1992 it had jumped to more than 39,000 megawatts by the end of 2004

New Markets

Australia

Wind energy capacity in Australia almost doubled in the last 12 months with 380 MW of wind energy capacity installed at the close of 2004. "Wind energy is one of the fastest growing clean energy sources because it is proven, quick to build and economically viable," said Ian Lloyd-Besson, president of AusWEA, the Australian Wind Energy Association.

"Besides being clean and green, wind energy brings investment, drought-proof farming income and jobs to rural communities. Australia has some of the most powerful and abundant untapped wind resource on the planet and a grid capacity that can potentially accommodate up to 8,000 MW of wind energy with minor adjustments," said Lloyd-Besson. "Even if we were to develop just half of this, the regional employment benefits and export opportunities would be enormous."

China

"China's anticipated entry into the global renewable energy market is expected to have a profound impact on the global industry. We have spent a lot of time and energy learning from the successes and failures of our partners in Europe and around the world." said Li Junfeng, secretary general, CREIA, Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association.

India has witnessed unprecedented growth in the wind energy sector. During the last fiscal year, 2003-2004, wind energy capacity in India grew by more than 35 percent. Wind power is today recognized in the Asian hemisphere and more particularly in India as being a cost effective, economic, mature and well proven form of clean, environmentally friendly and green energy production - a source of energy much needed in India," said Sarvesh Kumar, chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association.

Japan

"Japan plans to attain the wind power target of 3,000 megawatts by the year 2010 after the Kyoto Protocol. We have installed about 936 MW to date which is 20 times in comparison to five years ago and one third of the national target." said Hikaru Matsumiya, representative of the Japanese Wind Energy and Japanese Wind Power Associations.

Carbon Credits

In June 1992, over 180 countries at the "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro adopted the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a legal framework that commits Parties to the Convention to start the process of stabilizing climate-altering greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted under the UNFCCC, commits industrialized countries to reduce their carbon emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below their 1990 levels in the period 2008-2012. Carbon Credits as defined by Kyoto Political is one metric ton of carbon emitted by the burring of fossil fuels.

Another purpose of the UNFCCC is to assist third world countries with sustainable development through the transfer of cleaner technology and financial resources for specific projects, while at the same time contributing to the objectives of the UNFCCC by lowering emissions of greenhouse gases.

GWEC, the global forum for the wind energy sector, is calling for stronger national and international policies to support the expansion of wind energy as part of the range of policy options required to tackle climate change through the trading of carbon credits. According to the GWEC report Wind Force 12, boosting investment in wind energy to a level where it would provide 12 percent of world electricity generation by 2020 would result in annual reductions of 1,813 million tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in 2020 from 1,245,000 MW of wind energy installed.