India Wind Energy Growth

India rising as major wind energy producer NEW DELHI - India has emerged as one of the world's fastest growing wind energy producers during 2004 and is set to replace Denmark as the fourth largest player, with total installed capacity of about 3,000 megawatts (MW). The country added 875MW generation capacity during 2004, posting a growth rate of 41.5%. With a total installed capacity of 2,985MW India will soon surpass Denmark, which added only 7MW during 2004 and has a total capacity of 3,117MW, to become the fourth largest globally, the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) said in a statement Tuesday. India is also the leading country in Asia, accounting for more than half of the 4,726MW total installed capacity on the continent. Japan with 896MW and China with 764MW are the other two leading producers of wind energy in Asia. Worldwide, 8,321MW of generation capacity were added during the last year taking the total installed capacity to 47,616MW. Germany is ranked at the top with an installed capacity of 16,628MW followed by Spain at 8,263MW and the United States at 6,740MW. However, Spain grew faster during the year adding 2,061MW compared to 2,020MW by Germany and 370MW by the US, the WWEA said, adding the global rate of growth fell to 21% from 26% during 2003. The top five wind energy producers dominate the global market with a total installed capacity of 37,733MW. However, their share dropped from 82 to 79% during the year. In terms of new capacity addition, these five countries accounted for 64% of the new capacities added during 2004 across the globe, down from 79% a year ago, the industry association said. (Asia Pulse/PTI