North American wind power passes 27GW mark, according to new report

7 October 2009

In 2008, North American wind power generation capacity passed the 27GW mark by adding almost 9GW from the year before, the largest individual gain of any region in the world. According to a recent report from Pike Research, the market for wind turbines will continue to grow through 2015, driven by new generation additions as well as replacements of smaller, older turbines with larger, more efficient turbines.

The report forecasts that the turbine market will resume its growth in 2011, following three years of stagnation, and cumulative wind turbine deployments will exceed 40,000 units during the period from 2010 to 2015.

‘The year 2009 will be a defining moment for wind power markets around the world,’ said managing director Clint Wheelock. ‘The global economic crisis that began in late 2008 has thrown the industry into confusion, along with most global industries. Still, we see cause for optimism in the longer term as capital markets recover and the regulatory environment improves for wind energy.’

In addition to new deployments, another growth driver will be the replacement of aging turbines with newer, larger, more efficient models. By 2015, 45 per cent of all turbine installations in North America will be replacements, the report forecasts

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Tags: wind

This story was published on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 4:58 pm and is filed under North America, wind. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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