Wind Energy
Industry News

United States the World's Largest Wind Energy Producer

February 2, 2009

According to a recent report from the Global Wind Energy Council, the United States increased its wind energy capacity by over 50 percent in 2008, almost twice the rate of worldwide growth. As a result, the United States has overtaken Germany as the world's largest wind energy producer.

At the end of 2008, wind energy capacity in the United States reached 25,170 MW, an increase of 8,358 MW from 2007. Powered by growth in the United States and a doubling of wind energy capacity in China, worldwide wind energy capacity grew 28.8 percent to 120.8 GW.

The Global Wind Energy Council estimates that the worldwide market for turbine installations in 2008 was approximately $47.5 billion and employed over 400,000 people. In the United States, the wind energy sector employed 85,000 at the end of 2008, an increase of 35,000 jobs from 2007.

"These numbers illustrate the dual potential of wind energy to generate new jobs in manufacturing and construction while also smoothing the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy," says Tim Laughlin, President of Wave Wind. "In the short term, job generation is particularly important because it promotes economic growth across all industries, including those directly exposed to weakness in consumer demand."