China accounted for 44 per cent of the new wind energy capacity installed in calendar year 2011. It now accounts for a little over a fourth of the cumulative installed capacity at the end of the year.
According to statistics released by the Global Wind Energy Council, China added about 18,000 MW of wind energy capacity in 2011 with its cumulative capacity going up to 62,733 MW.
India crossed the 3,000-MW mark in new installations in a single calendar year, bringing on stream fresh capacity of 3,019 MW. India's was the third highest new installations during the year. The US was in the second spot with 6,810 MW of fresh capacity coming in during the year.
Europe, which has been facing a severe economic crisis, added 10,281 MW during the year, taking its total to 96,616 MW.
A press release issued by the Global Wind Energy Council says the wind industry added 41,000 MW during 2011, taking the total global installed capacity to 238,000 MW. This represents a 21 per cent increase over the previous year's capacity.
The council said 2011 was a tough year, and it would be the same in 2012 as well. For the second year running, the majority of new installations were outside the OECD, and new markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia were driving market growth.