Asia
The growth in Asian markets has been breathtaking, and nearly a third of the 27GW of new wind energy capacity added globally in 2008 were installed in Asia.
China continued its spectacular growth in 2008, occe again doubling its installed capacity by adding about 6.3 GW, to reach a total of 12.2 GW.
The prospects for future growth in the Chinese market are very good. In response to the financial crisis, the Chinese government has identified the development of wind energy as one of the key economic growth areas, and in 2009, new installed capacity is expected to nearly double again. At this rate, China is on its way to overtake Germany and Spain to reach second place in terms of total wind power capacity in 2010. This means that China would have met its 2020 target of 30 GW ten years ahead of time.
The growing wind power market in China has also encouraged domestic production of wind turbines and components, and the Chinese manufacturing industry is becoming increasingly mature, stretching over the whole supply chain. According to the Chinese Renewable Energy Industry Association (CREIA), the supply is starting to not only satisfy domestic demand, but also meet international needs, especially for components.
India is continuing its steady growth, with 1,800 MW of wind energy capacity added in 2008, bringing the total up to 9.6 GW. The leading wind producing state in India is Tamil Nadu, which hosts over 4 GW of installed capacity, followed by Maharashtra with 1.8 GW and Gujarat with 1.4 GW. Other Asian countries with new capacity additions in 2008 include Japan (346 MW, taking the total to 1.9 GW), Taiwan (81 MW for a total of 358 MW) and South Korea (43 MW for a total of 236 MW).