The IEA Wind member countries—located in Europe, North America, Asia, and the
Pacific Region— provide 75% of worldwide wind generating capacity. These
countries share information and research efforts to increase the contribution of
wind energy to their electrical generation mix.
They added more than 17,000 megawatts (MW) in 2008 for a total of close
92,000 MW of wind generating capacity. More than half of the member countries
added at least 200 MW of new capacity each, and four countries added more than
1,000 MW: the United States (8,558 MW), Germany (1,665 MW), Spain (1,609 MW),
and Italy (1,010 MW).
The electrical production from wind in IEA Wind countries met 2.3% of the
total electrical demand—up from 1.64% in 2007. This electrical output from wind
in the IEA Wind countries was sufficient to cover the total electricity
consumption of a country such as Australia. Many of the countries report
planning for much more capacity for 2009 and beyond.
The IEA Wind Energy Annual Report 2008 was funded and produced by the IEA
Wind implementing agreement and is made available to participating countries
through their national representatives. The U.S. Department of Energy and the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory represent the United States in this
agreement. The report may be downloaded for free on the
IEA Wind Web site