Wind Energy will not shrug off the sluggish U.S. economy until 2011, when growth will resume.
Noth American market was the world's fastest growing in 2008
That is the outlook from Pike Research for the North American market place, which grew faster than the rest of the world last year.
In 2008, wind power generation grew by 50 percent, with companies adding 9 GW of capacity and ending the year with 27 GW in place.
But it will be 2011 before growth resumes. The “turbine market will resume its growth in 2011 following three years of stagnation,” the firm said. Then, from 2010 to 2015, 40,000 new units will be installed, with new farms going in and old turbines being replaced.
About 45 percent of sales will be replacements.
In other words, with project financing still difficult to get, more tough times are ahead for wind power
