The steepening in the industry's growth curve since the 1990's, coupled a growing global trend toward national targets supporting reduced carbon dioxide emissions suggests a robust and sustained expansion for wind. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, over the last five years alone, the industry's annual growth has averaged 24.3% on a global basis, with wind energy capacity predicted to double by the end of the current decade.

These powerful fundamental forces are affecting change in energy production and usage. Wind energy's clean renewable nature, coupled with volatile rising fuel prices are certainly among the factors driving this trend. Political instability in the major petroleum producing regions of the world also creates an urgency to achieve greater energy security and further drives the uptake of domestic renewable energy resources. Furthermore, the established scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions are the major cause of global warming means the transition toward cleaner energy sources must be accelerated. This combination of factors has driven wind power to become the fastest growing energy technology in the world.

Resources:

Global Wind Energy Council Outlook

American Wind Energy Association 2007 Outlook