The 15,200 megawatts of new wind turbines installed worldwide last year will generate enough clean electricity annually to offset the carbon dioxide emissions of 23 average-sized U.S. coal-fired power plants, according to a new Vital Signs Update from the Worldwatch Institute.(1) The 43 million tons of carbon dioxide displaced in 2006 is equivalent to the emissions of 7,200 megawatts of coal-fired power plants, or nearly 8 million passenger cars.

Global wind power capacity increased almost 26 percent in 2006, exceeding 74,200 megawatts by year’s end. Global investment in wind power was roughly $22 billion in 2006, and in Europe and North America, the power industry added more capacity in wind than it did in coal and nuclear combined. The global market for wind equipment has risen 74 percent in the past two years, leading to long back orders for wind turbine equipment in much of the world. This market is ready for new turbine production, and that production should begin here at home.

“Wind power is on track to soon play a major role in reducing fossil fuel dependence and slowing the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” according to Worldwatch Senior Researcher Janet Sawin. “Already, the 43 million tons of carbon dioxide displaced by the new wind plants installed last year equaled more than 5 percent of the year’s growth in global emissions. If the wind market quadruples over the next nine years-a highly plausible scenario-wind power could be reducing global emissions growth by 20 percent in 2015.”

Today, Germany, Spain, and the United States generate nearly 60 percent of the world’s wind power. But the industry is shifting quickly from its European and North American roots to a new center of gravity in the booming energy markets of Asia. In 2006, India was the third largest wind turbine installer and China took the fifth spot, thanks to a 170-percent increase in new wind power installations over the previous year. More than 50 nations now tap the wind to produce electricity, and 13 have more than 1,000 megawatts of wind capacity installed.

As efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions accelerate around the globe, dozens of countries are working to add or strengthen laws that support the development of wind power and other forms of renewable energy. Rapid growth is expected in the next few years in several countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, and Portugal. The United States is uniquely situated to take advantage of this wind boom. Our well educated technological workforce, combined with our dormant industrial section (think rust belt midwest and old auto factories) could be combined to create a revolution in manufacturing in this country. Imagine if Ford or GM took some of its old factories and started to pump out wind turbines instead. I

“China and the United States will compete for leadership of the global wind industry in the years ahead,” says Sawin. “Although the U.S. industry got a 20-year head start, the Chinese are gaining ground rapidly. Whichever nation wins, it is encouraging to see the world’s top two coal burners fighting for the top spot in wind energy.”

If you would like to support wind energy send a message to your elected representative and let them know that you want them to vote yes on the renewable energy portfolio standards, learn more here.

1 Calculations are based on U.S. data: average capacity factor for new wind power capacity (34%, from American Wind Energy Association); average capacity factor for coal-fired power plants (72%, from North American Electric Reliability Council – NAERC); average CO2 emissions from U.S. coal-fired power plants (0.95 kg/kWh, from U.S. Energy Information Administration); and average coal-fired power plant capacity (318 megawatts, from NAERC).