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Wind industry thriving in Europe, Nuclear declining

“in Europe, more nuclear and coal capacity were decommissioned than installed in 2009,”

Wind beating nuclear and coal  in europe CleanTech February 4, 2010 – by Dallas Kachan More signs of the ascendancy of renewables and the waning of conventional energy, at least in Europe, according to two new reports:

1. Wind installations were up dramatically in 2009 despite the recession, driven by China, and accounted for the largest proportion of new power installations in the world, says one report, and
2. In Europe, more nuclear and coal capacity were decommissioned than installed in 2009, according to the other

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), a trade group for the wind industry, the wind power market grew by 31 percent in 2009, adding 37.5 GW of installations to bring capacity up to 157.9 GW.

Growth was led by China, which more than doubled its capacity from 12.1 GW in 2008 to 25.1 GW at the end of 2009 (see our article from yesterday, Report: China now world’s largest wind market). This outperformed the U.S., which installed nearly 10 GW in 2009, increasing the country’s installed capacity by 39 percent to 35 GW.

GWEC said the global market for turbine installations was worth €45 billion ($63 billion) in 2009, and the sector now employs around half a million people around the world.

And according to a newly-released report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), wind power accounted for 39 percent of new installed capacity in the EU in 2009. In fact, in Europe, more nuclear and coal capacity were decommissioned than installed in 2009, the report said (referencing figures from a graph in the report, but without citing a source for its data).

In addition to the above, wind power capacity installed in the EU in 2009 was larger than any other power technology, said EWEA. 2009 marked the second consecutive year that more wind power was installed than any other power technology, and renewables also accounted for most of the new installed capacities for the second consecutive year, it said. ..http://cleantech.com/news/5601/wind-beating-nuclear-and-coal-europe

February 5, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable | antinuclear, energy efficiency, nuclear