Thousands of attendees will participate in more than 200 events focused on wind energy in 40 countries around the world on June 15, which the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has designated as Global Wind Day.
Commercial wind power is deployed in more than 75 countries around the world, with 21 countries having more than 1 GW installed. The current 250 GW+ of global installed wind energy capacity is more than 30 times what was deployed just 15 years ago, according to the GWEC.
Industry projections show that with the right policy support, wind power will double in capacity by 2015 and again by the end of this decade, delivering 9% to 12% of global electricity supply and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 1.5 billion tons annually.
However, for wind power and other renewables to reach their full potential, governments need to act.
"We need to double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030,” says Kandeh K. Yumkella, director-general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. “This can be achieved with significant contribution from wind energy, both grid connected and for small-scale decentralized systems.”
