I noted in January that cleantech investments decreased by 11 percent in 2012 and that it wasn’t a problem as prices decreased. Here is a direct proof of that as global wind capacity increased by no less than 20 percent in 2012.
According to the latest report from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), 44.7 GW of wind capacity were installed last year, the total capacity reaching 282 Gigawatts. Both the United States and China installed roughly 13 gigawatts each.
This takes place as renewables are gradually becoming cheaper than fossil fuels, which are still the main energy sources, but ultimately won’t be anymore in a few decades.
Silicon Republic offers an interesting point of view on the growth of wind energy in Europe :
A total of 105.6GW of wind energy capacity has now been installed in the EU, with Ireland installing 125MW in 2012, according to figures published by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) today.
(…) In 2012, 12.4GW of wind power was installed across Europe, of which 11.6GW was in the EU. Of this later figure, almost 10.4GW represented onshore wind capacity, while almost 1.2GW represented offshore installations.
Based on the EWEA analysis, investment in EU wind farms was between €12.8bn and €17.2bn. Onshore wind farms attracted €9.4bn to €12.5bn, while offshore wind farms accounted for €3.4bn to €4.7bn.