The Ten Countries That Rule The World's Wind Energy

The biggest producers of wind power are racing to add capacity to meet growing energy demands. Last year alone, the world’s wind energy capacity increased by 17.3%. But the growth is largely the result of a small number of countries, which are the world’s largest energy consumers and are desperate for alternatives. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the Global Wind Energy Council’s 2011 report to identify the 10 countries that produce the most wind energy in the world.

Read The Ten Countries That Rule The World’s Wind Energy

The countries that produce the most wind energy are seeking energy independence. They comprise some of the world’s largest economies. Nine out of the 10 are among the 12 countries with the largest GDP. While they are not all growing at the same rate — Spain’s GDP has decreased since 2009 — all of them are looking for new energy solutions to feed their economic growth. In 2011, Canada, the country with the 10th largest GDP, increased its total wind power capacity by 24%. China, the country with the second largest GDP, increased its wind capacity by 29%.

Almost all the countries on this list are developing new renewal energy sources because their oil consumption far outpaces their oil production. All of the countries, except for Canada, consume more oil than they produce. India consumes more than four times more oil than it produces. The U.S. uses about two and a half times as much as it produces.

24/7 Wall St. used data from the Global Wind Energy Council report to compile a list of the countries that produce the most wind energy. We listed each country’s share of global wind power production in 2011, its total capacity measured in megawatts (MW), as well as the increase in capacity last year. We relied on BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy for each country’s oil use and production. For certain countries, this data was unavailable when production was below a 0.1% share of the world’s total. We also included GDP data from the World Bank.

These are the 10 countries desperate to produce wind energy.

10. Portugal
> Share of global wind power production: 1.7%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 377 MW/4,083 MW
> Oil production: N/A
> Oil consumption: 0.3 million barrels daily (0.3%)
> GDP growth 2010: 1.4%

Portugal has dramatically increased its reliance on clean energy over the past few years. In 2005, 17% of the country’s electricity was derived from renewable sources. By 2010, this amount increased to nearly 45%. The country produces less than 0.1% of the world’s oil and only consumes 0.3% of it. The New York Times reports that wind power, along with hydropower, is now Portugal’s main energy focus. One downside, however, is that the Portuguese pay about twice as much as Americans do for electricity. And these prices have risen 15% in the past five years, due in part to the high cost of the country’s renewable energy program.

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9. Canada
> Share of global wind power production: 2.2%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total:1,267 MW/5,265 MW
> Oil production: 3.3 million barrels/day (4.2%)
> Oil consumption: 2.3 million barrels daily (2.5%)
> GDP growth 2010: 3.2%

Canada is the world’s sixth-largest producer of oil and the 10th-largest consumer of oil. However, wind power is a growing source of energy. According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, the country’s “vast landscape,” its “three windy coastlines,” and its “plains and mountains,” all contribute to its potential as a major wind energy producer and user. The country is already taking steps to develop this sector. In 2011, the country built 1,267 MW of new wind energy installations in the form of wind towers or wind turbines, effectively quadrupling Canada’s capacity. In 2010, only 690 MW installations were built.

8. UK
> Share of global wind power production: 2.7%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 1,293 MW/6,540 MW
> Oil production: 1.3 million barrels/day (1.6%)
> Oil consumption: 1.6 million barrels daily (1.8%)
> GDP growth 2010: 1.4%

The United Kingdom recently reached a record 6 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy, according to trade association RenewableUK. This is enough to power more than 3.3 million households. Another 19.5 GW are currently planned, and by 2020 over 30 GW are expected to be installed, the group reports. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has recently pledged his support for wind power, writing in a statement, “I see offshore wind as a significant energy and industrial opportunity for the UK, and one that I am determined to seize.”

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7. Italy
> Share of global wind power production: 2.8%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 950 MW/6,747 MW
> Oil production: 0.1 million barrels/day (0.1%)
> Oil consumption: 1.5 million barrels daily (1.8%)
> GDP growth 2010: 1.3%

Although it produces just 0.1% of the world’s oil, Italy consumes 1.8% of it. The country is increasingly turning to wind power to face its energy needs. According to the New York Times, more than 800 Italian communities now make more energy than they consume thanks to recent renewable energy plants, largely wind turbines. In 2011, the country increased its wind power capacity by 14%. However, the Italian government recently cut incentives for wind energy, which, according to Windpower Monthly magazine, may possibly threaten efforts to reach national alternative energy goals.

6. France
> Share of global wind power production: 2.9%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 830 MW/6,800 MW
> Oil production: N/A
> Oil consumption: 1.7 million barrels daily (2.1%)
> GDP growth 2010: 1.5%

In 2010, approximately 74% of France’s power needs were met via nuclear energy. This past summer, the French government began seeking offshore wind energy project proposals to lessen the country’s reliance on nuclear power and increase its share of the growing wind energy market. France has plans to meet 23% of its energy demand through renewable sources by 2020, according to Reuters. The country also plans to double its wind power capacity by 2020.

5. India
> Share of global wind power production: 6.7%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 3,019 MW/16,084 MW
> Oil production: 0.8 million barrels/day (1.0%)
> Oil consumption: 3.3 million barrels daily (3.9%)
> GDP growth 2010: 8.8%

India is home to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. In 2010 alone, GDP increased 8.8%. Additionally, the country’s population is growing at roughly twice the rate of the U.S. It is no surprise then that India consumes more than four times as much oil as it produces. The country is investing in alternatives. Wind energy is the fastest growing renewable energy sector in India, according to the Global Wind Energy Council’s 2011 report Indian Wind Energy Outlook. The report also notes that the national action plan on climate change aims to bring India’s total share of renewable energy sources up to 15% by 2020.

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4. Spain
> Share of global wind power production: 9.1%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 1,050 MW/21,674 MW
> Oil production: N/A
> Oil consumption: 1.5 million barrels daily (1.8%)
> GDP growth 2010: -0.1%

As of March 2011, wind power has been Spain’s main source of electricity generation. When the Socialist Party was in power, the government heavily subsidized wind energy, guaranteeing minimum returns for wind farms up through 2020, according to Reuters. But when the right-leaning People’s Party took office in the November 2011 elections, it was expected to cut these subsidies as a means of controlling the country’s debt. Jaime Legaz, head of the People’s Party’s FAES think tank, was quoted in Reuters as saying, “We can’t afford high-cost energy and the government can’t continue to bet on extremely expensive sources of energy for Spanish households.”

3. Germany
> Share of global wind power production: 12.2%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 2,086 MW/29,060 MW
> Oil production: N/A
> Oil consumption: 2.4 million barrels daily (2.9%)
> GDP growth 2010: 3.7%

Germany produces less than 0.1% of the world’s oil, yet consumes almost 3%. However, the country has invested a great deal and made great strides in its alternative energy industry, becoming the world’s third-largest producer of wind power. A decision by the government in the beginning of 2011 to phase out Germany’s nuclear plants has caused demand for wind turbines to soar. According to Bloomberg, “the government has raised subsidies for offshore wind farms as part of a plan to install 10,000 megawatts of sea-based turbines by the end of this decade, up from about 210 megawatts now.”

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2. United States
> Share of global wind power production: 19.7%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 6,810 MW/46,919 MW
> Oil production: 7.5 million barrels/day (8.7%)
> Oil consumption: 19.1 million barrels daily (21.1%)
> GDP growth 2010: 3.0%

The U.S. is the top oil-consuming nation in the world. The country has greatly developed its wind power sector, yet wind energy still only accounted for 2.3% of electricity purchased in 2010. According to a Bloomberg article from February 2012, U.S. investments in wind are waning because of increased natural gas production. Travis Miller, a Chicago-based utility analyst at Morningstar, explains in the article that, “Wind on its own without incentives is far from economic unless gas is north of $6.50,” or more than double its current price.

1. China
> Share of global wind power production: 26.3%
> Increase in wind power (2011)/total: 18,000 MW/62,733 MW
> Oil production: 4.0 million barrels/day (5.2%)
> Oil consumption: 9.1 million barrels daily (10.6%)
> GDP growth 2010: 10.4%

China, like India, is home to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. GDP in 2010 increased by 10.4%. China became the world’s largest consumer of energy in 2010. To meet growing energy needs, the country has turned to alternative energy supplies. China has already heavily invested in wind power, increasing its capacity by nearly 29% in 2011 alone. According to Wang Zhongying, director and research fellow at the Center for Renewable Energy Development of the Energy Research Institute, “Wind power projects are expected to address 17 percent of the power demand in China,” by 2050. At that point, the country’s investment in the wind power sector is expected to reach a total $1.9 trillion.

Charles B. Stockdale