Wind power is a clean, emissions-free power generation technology. Like all renewable sources it is based on capturing the energy from natural forces and has none of the polluting effects associated with ‘conventional’ fuels. The development of wind power will help slow down the effects of climate change”.

From an emerging fuel source twenty years ago, wind energy has mushroomed into a mature and booming global business. Generating costs have fallen dramatically over the last 15 years, moving closer to the cost of conventional energy sources. Modern wind turbines have improved dramatically in their power rating, efficiency and reliability.

There is a large and growing global demand for emissions-free wind power, which can be installed quickly, virtually anywhere in the world with appropriate wind conditions Over the past ten years, global wind power capacity has continued to grow at an average cumulative rate of over 24%. In 2009 as in 2010, new installed capacity exceeded 38 GW (gigawatts) per year reaching a total of almost 200GW. For the first time in history, in 2010, more wind power capacity was installed in developing economies than in fully developed countries, the latter being the traditional markets for wind energy.

China has become the leader of installed wind power capacity, followed by the United States, Germany and Spain. Brazil and Mexico are Latin American leaders of installed windpower capacity reaching in 2010, a total of 930 and 519 MW respectively.

Worldwide, in 2010, the investments in renewable energy reached $210 billion dollars, 31.8% higher than the previous year. Also, for the first time the investment in renewable energy exceeded investments based on fossil fuel. The global growth of wind power is expected to continue rising at this dynamic pace.