More wind energy could be installed in 2010 than any other electricity generating technology if European Wind Energy Association forecasts become reality.
European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) CEO Christian Kjaer announced that an additional 10,000 MW of additional capacity is expected to be installed this year. Kjaer said that despite investor confidence falling at the end of 2009, orders for 2010 show a strong European wind energy market for 2010.
An additional 10,000 MW would take the total European installed wind energy capacity to almost 85 GW – an increase of 13%.
2010 will see more installations in offshore wind power, with up to 1 GW of new capacity expected to be installed during the year compared to 577 MW installed in 2009.
EWEA predicts France and Italy to install around 1000MW each in 2010. The expected fall in installations in Spain will be more than compensated for by a doubling of installations in new entrant countries such as Romania and Bulgaria and significant growth in offshore wind energy in the UK. Germany is expected to be the largest market this year, closely followed by the UK.
