World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), a non-profit organization, aims to have world energy come from renewable technologies with wind energy as a cornerstone. With almost 500 members, the organization says it advises national governments and international organizations on favorable policies for implementing wind energy and enhances international technology transfer. WWEA publishes wind energy information on a regular basis and provides up-to-date information on related technology. For instance, the annual World Wind Energy Report is available from: www.worldwind-energy.info. The biannual yearbook Wind Energy International comprises updated reports on about 100 countries and numerous special reports. A few findings from the recent report include:
• Worldwide capacity reached 159,213 MW, out of which 38,312 MW were added in 2009.
• Wind power showed a growth rate of 31.7%, the highest since 2001.
• Wind capacity trend is to double every three years.
• All wind turbines installed by end of 2009 worldwide are generating 340 TWh per annum, equivalent to the total electricity demand of Italy — the seventh largest economy of the world — and equaling 2% of global electricity consumption.
• The wind sector in 2009 had a turnover of $50 billion.
• The wind sector employed 550,000 persons worldwide. In 2012, the wind industry is to provide 1 million jobs for the first time.
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