6. Wind power usage

There are now many thousands of wind turbines operating, with a total nameplate capacity of 157,899 MW of which wind power in Europe accounts for 48% (2009). World wind generation capacity more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006, doubling about every three years. 81% of wind power installations are in the US and Europe. The share of the top five countries in terms of new installations fell from 71% in 2004 to 62% in 2006, but climbed to 73% by 2008 as those countries — the United States, Germany, Spain, China, and India — have seen substantial capacity growth in the past two years (see chart).

The World Wind Energy Association forecast that, by 2010, over 200 GW of capacity would have been installed worldwide, up from 73.9 GW at the end of 2006, implying an anticipated net growth rate of more than 28% per year.

Wind accounts for nearly one-fifth of electricity generated in Denmark — the highest percentage of any country — and it is tenth in the world in total wind power generation. Denmark is prominent in the manufacturing and use of wind turbines, with a commitment made in the 1970s to eventually produce half of the country's power by wind.

In recent years, the US has added substantial amounts of wind power generation capacity, growing from just over 6 GW at the end of 2004 to over 35 GW at the end of 2009. The U.S. is currently the world's leader in wind power generation capacity. The country as a whole generates just 2.4% of its electrical power from wind, but several states generate substantial amounts of wind power.

Texas is the state with the largest amount of generation capacity with 9,410 MW installed. This would have ranked sixth in the world, were Texas a separate country. Iowa is the state with the highest percentage of wind generation, at 14.2% in 2009.California was one of the incubators of the modern wind power industry, and led the U.S. in installed capacity for many years. As of mid-2010, fourteen U..S. states had wind power generation capacities in excess of 1000 MW. U.S. Department of Energy studies have concluded that wind from the Great Plains states of Texas, Kansas, and North Dakota could provide enough electricity to power the entire nation, and that offshore wind farms could do the same job.

China had originally set a generating target of 30,000 MW by 2020 from renewable energy sources, but reached 22,500 MW by end of 2009 and could easily surpass 30,000 MW by end of 2010. Indigenous wind power could generate up to 253,000 MW. A Chinese renewable energy law was adopted in November 2004, following the World Wind Energy Conference organized by the Chinese and the World Wind Energy Association. By 2008, wind power was growing faster in China than the government had planned, and indeed faster in percentage terms than in any other large country, having more than doubled each year since 2005. Policymakers doubled their wind power prediction for 2010, after the wind industry reached the original goal of 5 GW three years ahead of schedule. Current trends suggest an actual installed capacity near 20 GW by 2010, with China shortly thereafter pursuing the United States for the world wind power lead.

India ranks 5th in the world with a total wind power capacity of 10,925 MW in 2009, or 3% of all electricity produced in India. The World Wind Energy Conference in New Delhi in November 2006 has given additional impetus to the Indian wind industry. Muppandal village in Tamil Nadu state,India, has several wind turbine farms in its vicinity, and is one of the major wind energy harnessing centres in India led by majors like Suzlon, Vestas, Micon among others.

Mexico recently opened La Venta II wind power project as a step toward reducing Mexico's consumption of fossil fuels. The 88 MW project is the first of its kind in Mexico, and will provide 13 percent of the electricity needs of the state of Oaxaca. By 2012 the project will have a capacity of 3,500 MW. In May 2010, Sempra Energy announced it would build a wind farm inBaja California, with a capacity of at least 1,000 MW, at a cost of $5.5 billion.

Another growing market is Brazil, with a wind potential of 143 GW.

South Africa has a proposed station situated on the West Coast north of the Olifants River mouth near the town of Koekenaap, east of Vredendal in the Western Cape province. The station is proposed to have a total output of 100 MW although there are negotiations to double this capacity. The plant could be operational by 2010.

France has announced a target of 12,500 MW installed by 2010, though their installation trends over the past few years suggest they'll fall well short of their goal.

Canada experienced rapid growth of wind capacity between 2000 and 2006, with total installed capacity increasing from 137 MW to 1,451 MW, and showing an annual growth rate of 38%.Particularly rapid growth was seen in 2006, with total capacity doubling from the 684 MW at end-2005. This growth was fed by measures including installation targets, economic incentives and political support. For example, the Ontario government announced that it will introduce a feed-in tariff for wind power, referred to as 'Standard Offer Contracts', which may boost the wind industry across the province. In Quebec, the provincially owned electric utility plans to purchase an additional 2000 MW by 2013. By 2025, Canada will reach its capacity of 55,000 MW of wind energy, or 20% of the country's energy needs.

Installed windpower capacity (MW)^{[1][51][52][53]}

#	Nation	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
-	European Union	40,722	48,122	56,614	65,255	74,767
1	United States	9,149	11,603	16,819	25,170	35,159
2	Germany	18,428	20,622	22,247	23,903	25,777
3	China	1,266	2,599	5,912	12,210	25,104
4	Spain	10,028	11,630	15,145	16,740	19,149
5	India	4,430	6,270	7,850	9,587	10,925
6	Italy	1,718	2,123	2,726	3,537	4,850
7	France	779	1,589	2,477	3,426	4,410
8	United Kingdom	1,353	1,963	2,389	3,288	4,070
9	Portugal	1,022	1,716	2,130	2,862	3,535
10	Denmark	3,132	3,140	3,129	3,164	3,465
11	Canada	683	1,460	1,846	2,369	3,319
12	Netherlands	1,236	1,571	1,759	2,237	2,229
13	Japan	1,040	1,309	1,528	1,880	2,056
14	Australia	579	817	817	1,494	1,712
15	Sweden	509	571	831	1,067	1,560
16	Ireland	495	746	805	1,245	1,260
17	Greece	573	758	873	990	1,087
18	Austria	819	965	982	995	995
19	Turkey	20	65	207	433	801
20	Poland	83	153	276	472	725
21	Brazil	29	237	247	339	606
22	Belgium	167	194	287	384	563
23	Mexico	2	84	85	85	520
24	New Zealand	168	171	322	325	497
25	Taiwan	104	188	280	358	436
26	Norway	268	325	333	428	431
27	Egypt	145	230	310	390	430
28	South Korea	119	176	192	278	348
29	Morocco	64	64	125	125	253
30	Hungary	18	61	65	127	201
31	Czech Republic	30	57	116	150	192
32	Bulgaria	14	36	57	158	177
33	Chile	?	?	?	20	168
34	Finland	82	86	110	143	147
35	Estonia	?	?	59	78	142
36	Costa Rica	?	?	?	74	123
37	Ukraine	77	86	89	90	94
38	Iran	32	47	67	82	91
39	Lithuania	7	56	50	54	91
	Other Europe (non EU27)	391	494	601	1022	1385
	Rest of Americas	155	159	184	210	175
	Rest of Africa & Middle East	52	52	51	56	91
	Rest of Asia & Oceania	27	27	27	36	51
	World total (MW)	59,024	74,151	93,927	121,188	157,899

taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power#Wind_power_usage

Overview of Wind Energy

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