World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

June 26, 2005 – Vol.10 No.14

WORLD WIND WATCH.

Since 1999, Greenpeace and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) have been publishing updated editions of Windforce 12, a blueprint that describes how wind power could supply 12 percent of the world’s electricity by 2020.

The latest edition is out. Highlights of the issue show that just 13 countries - Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, Poland, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S. could lead the effort. And, each country would see new business opportunities develop.

The report says that value of the global market for wind turbines now stands at $9.6 billion (EUR 8 billion.) In the Windforce 12 scenario the market value would reach $96 billion (EUR 80 billion) per year by 2020. (That number reflects the value of turbines only, not wind turbine installations with related components and infrastructure.)

For the 2005 version of Windforce 12 visit the GWEC at http://www.gwec.net/ or the European Wind Energy Association at http://www.ewea.org/ .

An expanding wind energy industry will mean the creation of new jobs. It’s already happening.

Vestas Wind Systems has announced it will build a new factory in Spain to build turbine nacelles - up to 300 per year. (Nacelles are the hub of a wind turbine that contains the power generator and other equipment.) The plant will be in Castilla y LeÛn and employ up to 150.

The company also announced in May that it would build a wind energy research and development center in Aarhus, Denmark that will employ up to 500. Vestas will also build a similar facility at an undisclosed location in Asia. Visit Vestas at http://www.vestas.com/ .

GE Energy’s wind division is spinning along nicely. The company has announced that since its creation in 2002 revenues have increased by 300-percent to an anticipated $2 billion for 2005.

The company also announced that will supply wind turbines for a project in mainland China’s Hebei Province. The 34.5-megawatt Shangyi Manjing Wind Farm will use 23 of GE’s 1.5-megawatt wind turbines.

GE’s 1.5 megawatt turbines are also used in the newly completed Cefn Croes wind farm in Wales, which is the U.K.’s largest onshore wind power project. Cefn Croes which provides 20 percent of Wales' current wind energy capacity, features 39 , 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for a rated capacity of 58.5 megawatts

Visit GE Energy (wind division) at http://www.gewind.com/ .

Gamesa is on cruise control as well with turbine orders flowing in. The company has announced that the government of New South Wales, Australia has approved the construction of the Crookwell-2 Wind Farm. Gamesa will be supplying 46, 2.0 megawatt turbines for that facility.

Gamesa’s Australian division is also developing 3 more wind farms in the country with a combined output of 300 megawatts. Visit Gamesa at http://www.gamesa.es/ .