It is incredible how rapidly wind power generation has grown over the past decade.  The latest Global Wind Report Annual Market Update 2012 from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) reports that the 2012 global wind power market grew by more than 10% compared to 2011. Nearly 45 GW of new wind power capacity resulted from about €56billion of investment. The new global total capacity at the end of 2012 was 282.5GW, equal to about a quarter of the power generation capacity of the U.S.  In 2012 the cumulative market growth rate of 19% was somewhat lower than the annual average growth rate of 22% of wind energy over the past 10 years.

2012 turned out to be a record year for wind power installations in North America and Europe.  China experienced a slower market, which meant that the US led the world in wind installations in 2012.  

By the end of last year the number of countries with more than 1 GW of installed capacity reached 24: 16 in Europe; 4 in Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan & Australia); 3 in North America (Canada, Mexico, US) and 1 in Latin America (Brazil).

U.S.

The US wind energy industry had a record year in 2012, installing 13.1
GW and exceeding 60 GW total installed wind power capacity.

Europe

During 2012, 12.7 GW W of wind power was installed across Europe.   European Union countries accounted for 11.9 GW of this, 23% more than the previous year.  Of the 12.7 GW installed in Europe, 10.7 GW were installed onshore and 1.2 GW offshore. The offshore market grew by 35% compared to 2011. 

The total wind power capacity installed in the EU by the end of 2012 provides about 7% of overall EU electricity consumption (up from 6.3% in 2011).

Asia was the world’s largest regional market for wind energy in 2012, with new capacity of 15 GW.

China

In 2012, wind-generated electricity in China amounted to 100.4 billion kWh, about 2% of the country’s total electricity output last year, up from 1.5% in 2011. China reached 75.3 GW of wind capacity by the end of 2012. China continues to lead the world in cumulative installed wind power capacity. By the end of 2012, wind energy was the third largest source of electricity after thermal and hydropower in China, passing nuclear during 2012.

India

In 2011 the Indian wind sector experienced a record annual growth, with over 3 GW of new
installations.   2012 was a slower year due to a lapse in policy, but India still experienced significant new wind energy capacity which reached 2.3 GW at the end of 2012, for a cumulative total of 18.4 GW.

As of January 2013, total renewable energy installations in the country reached 26.9 GW. By the end of 2012, renewable energy accounted for over 12 % of total installed capacity, and about 6% of electricity generation, compared to 2% in 1995. Wind power accounted for about 69% of total renewable energy capacity or about 8% of the total installed capacity in India.