Spain is second largest producer of wind power

05 February 2003

Spain is now the second largest producer of wind power after Germany since its capacity for wind power grew 44% in 2002 to 4,830 megawatts. The Association of Renewable Energy Producers said Spain added 1,493MW of installed capacity last year, which took its overall capacity to 2nd in ranking to Germany's 12,001MW, ahead of the United States with 2,685MW of capacity.

The total of 4,830MW represented less than 8% of Spain's total capacity of 62,034MW, according to the industry group UNESA.
The Spanish government aims to increase wind power capacity to 13,000MW by 2011 as part of its plan to meet Kyoto Protocol goals for reducing greenhouse gases believed to be caused by burning fossil fuels.

Energy sector sources warned recently that the Spanish government's decision to reduce price guarantees for wind power could affect growth of the industry in years to come.