The IEA Wind 2012 Annual Report which presents the latest information on wind energy in the twenty member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind, the Chinese Wind Energy Association, the European Commission, and the European Wind Energy Association is available to download here .
World wind capacity now generates enough electricity to meet more than 3% of the world’s electricity demand. In 2012, nearly 85% of the world’s wind generating capacity resided in the member countries of the International Energy Agency Wind Implementing Agreement (IEA Wind). During that year, these countries added nearly 37 GW (36,957,000,000 Watts) of wind generation for a total of about 240 GW of wind generating capacity.
The report presents information on generation capacity, progress towards national objectives, benefits to national economies, issues affecting growth, costs of projects and turbines, national incentive programmes, and R&D results. In 2012, every IEA Wind member country added wind capacity, and nine countries reported record increases: Australia, Austria, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Seven countries added more than 1 GW: China (17.6 GW), the United States (6.8 GW), Germany (2.0 GW), Canada (1.3 GW), the United Kingdom (1.1 GW), Italy (1.0 GW), and Spain (1.0 GW). The Executive Summary synthesizes the information for 2012 and includes data on capacity and generation since 1995.
Press release, September 25, 2013