China added 18.9 GW of new wind power capacity last year to reach a total installed capacity of 44.7 GW, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). The new numbers for China also result in revised figures for global wind power growth in 2010, with the new capacity added over the year amounting to 38.3 GW (close to the 2009 market), taking the total to 197 GW, which represents a 24% growth.

“China has become the single largest driver for global wind power development. In 2010, every second wind turbine that was added anywhere in the world was installed in China.” says Steve Sawyer, secretary general of GWEC.

China’s wind market doubled every year between 2005 and 2009 in terms of total installed capacity, and it has been the world’s largest annual market since 2009. In 2010, China overtook the US as the country with the most installed wind energy capacity.

This strong growth in China has had a significant impact on the market shares of wind turbine manufacturers, which see Chinese companies increasing their overall shares of the global wind markets. Indeed, four out of the top ten global wind turbine manufacturers are now Chinese, with Sinovel and Goldwind ranking second and fourth respectively. Domestic manufacturers now supply more than 50% of the equipment used in Chinese wind power projects.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the growth in installed capacity was driven by a record level of investment in wind power in China, which exceeded $20 billion in 2009. In the third quarter of 2010, China’s investment in new wind power projects accounted for half of the global total.

The Chinese government report Development Planning of New Energy Industry optimistically calculated that the cumulative installed capacity of China’s wind power will reach 200 GW by 2020 and generate 440 TWh of electricity annually, creating more than RMB250 billion (Eur28 billion or $38 billion) in revenue.

The Chinese government’s twelfth Five-Year Plan, which was passed by the Chinese Parliament in March 2011, reflects the Chinese government’s continuous and reinforced commitment to wind power development, with a target of building an additional 90 GW of wind energy by 2015.

Wind power uses less water than almost any other power generation technology, the Global Wind Energy Council has emphasized. The wind industry is calling on policy makers to take this into account in the critical and urgent decisions which will determine the character of the world’s power generation infrastructure for decades to come.

Some 40% of the world’s population already live in water-stressed areas, and population growth and industrialisation will put further pressure on water availability. Given the high levels of water use in conventional power generation, increasing power demand will aggravate the situation. As a result, global water demand is expected to outstrip supply by 40% by 2030 under a business-as-usual approach.

“Water scarcity is now a pressing issue in many parts of the world, and this will be exacerbated by climate change,” points out Steve Sawyer, general secretary of GWEC. “Wind power can make a considerable contribution to conserving the world’s valuable water resources. Unlike most other power sources, which consume huge amounts of water that could be used much more productively for human consumption and agriculture, wind power generation does not use any water.”

Wind power generation actively conserves water and can help alleviate water shortages, according to research carried out by leading wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems. While conventional fossil fuel and nuclear power plants, which make up 78% of global electricity production, use water for cooling and condensing the steam that drives the turbines, wind power generation requires practically no water. As a result, wind power can save more than 2,000 litres of water per MWh of produced electricity. The US Department of Energy estimates that 20% of wind power in the US power system by 2030 would save as much as 4 trillion gallons (15 trillion litres) of water, equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 9 million US citizens.

The research also shows that many parts of the world that are already or will be facing water scarcity are at the same time blessed with winds suitable for wind power production. Exploiting this rich resource would bring numerous economic and climate change benefits, and also help conserve scarce water resources.

“The global power sector is the largest industrial water user, and it has to start addressing the issue of water consumption, especially in the light of rising electricity demand, and increasing droughts created by the world’s changing climate,” concluded Steve Sawyer. “To mitigate climate change, the power sector not only needs to become CO2 free, but also dramatically reduce its water consumption. Wind energy provides a sustainable solution to both these challenges.”