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GWEC
– GLOBAL WIND
2007
REPORT
Frewr
2007 was yet another banner year or the wind industry,with a 27% increase in installed capacity, bringing the globaltotal to more than 94,000 MW The increasingly mature andglobal industry installed more than 20,000 MW o clean,emissions ree wind energy capacity in the course o the year, representing about
€
25 billion (about $US 37 billion)o investment, and by the time this publication is released,the total global capacity will no doubt have passed the100,000 MW markWith the price o oil hovering around $US 100 per barrel,and the price o coal and gas at historically high levels,the advantages o an energy source independent rom thevagaries o the international commodities markets has neverbeen clearer ‘Resource depletion’ will never be a problem orwind power We have only just begun to scratch the suraceo its potentialThis is good news not only or energy planners seekingto achieve security o supply, but also or politicians anddiplomats searching or solutions to the global crisis ohuman-induced climate change As governments ranticallynegotiate a new agreement or the period ater 2012, thewind industry stands ready to make a very substantialcontribution to solving what most now acknowledge is thegreatest long term threat to our civilizationThe wind energy industry is also playing a major role inanother kind o boom: regional economic (re)developmentFrom the Texas Panhandle to Inner Mongolia, and romSchleswig-Holstein to Andalucía, the wind industry isbuilding new actories, expanding local tax bases and creatingthousand o new ‘green collar’ jobs at an ever-expanding rateAt the local, regional, and national level as well as globally,wind power is more and more oten the answer to questionsabout our energy uture2007 will be remembered as the year when the globalcommunity nally started to get to grips with the climateissue Most notably, the release o the IPCC’s 4th AssessmentReport put all reasonable doubts to rest about the natureand causes o climate change The thousands o scientists,reviewers and editors who volunteer their time to make upthe Panel were the much deserved recipients o the NobelPeace Prize, shared with ormer US vide-President Al Gore orhis lm ‘An Inconvenient Truth’One clear ‘take home’ message rom the IPCC report is thatregardless o long term targets, i we are going to have anychance o avoiding the worst ravages o climate change, thenthe one thing we must do is to stop increasing greenhousegas emissions: they must peak and begin to decline globally
beore the end o the next decade.
While the power sector is ar rom being the only culpritwhen it comes to climate change, it is the largest singlesource o emissions, accounting or about 38% o CO
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emissions, and about 25% o overall emissions Our optionsor making major emissions reductions in the power sectorbetween now and 2020 are basically three: energy eciencyand conservation; uel switching rom coal to gas; andrenewable energy, primarily wind powerAs policy makers become more aware o this reality, theyappreciate more and more wind power’s technologicalmaturity, widespread availability, speed o deployment, andthe act that there is a robust, growing industry becomingmore and more global with every passing year The windindustry is ready, willing and able to ulll these growingexpectations and responsibilitiesThis is the third annual report on the status o the globalwind industry by the Global Wind Energy Council, and itprovides a comprehensive snapshot o this global industry,which is now present in more than 70 countries The dataand country proles or this report have been collectedthrough GWEC’s member associations around the world andadditional government and industry contacts The Councilwishes to thank the contributors and is looking orward to anequally ruitul cooperation or uture editions
Arthouros Zervos
ChairmanGlobal Wind Energy Council
Steve Sawyer
Secretary GeneralGlobal Wind Energy Council
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