March, 2005

According to a study released by the World Wind Energy Association, India ranks fifth in terms of overall capacity, but is expected to soon overtake Denmark to become the fourth largest country in terms of overall wind energy capacity. The study says that Asia represented 9.8 per cent of the global wind energy market in 2004 with India contributing a capacity addition of 875 MW and a growth rate of 42 per cent. The country's total wind energy capacity registered a 41.5 per cent year-on-year growth to 2.985 MW last year, accounting for about 3 per cent of the overall generation capacity of the power sector. Japan, however, posted the highest growth rate in Asia at 77.1 per cent, adding capacity of 896 MW during the year, followed by India at 875 MW and China at 764 MW.

Globally, Spain became the new leader in terms of new capacity addition with 2,061 MW, replacing Germany, which added 2,020 MW during the year. Germany, however, continues to be the world leader in terms of overall wind energy capacity, representing one-third of global wind energy installations.