Wind energy development in East Asia and Europe

Over the last decade, wind energy has emerged as the most important non-hydro renewables sector, contributing significantly to global efforts on developing low-carbon energy systems. In terms of grid electricity generation, its power output has increased almost 16-fold since 2000 and currently produces around 3 times that of solar photovoltaic, 4 times more than biomass and 20 times more than geothermal installations globally. Europe and East Asia have been at the forefront of wind energy development, together accounting for almost 70 % of total installed capacity and most of the world's largest wind turbine producers. This paper begins by providing an overview of historic and recent developments in wind energy and then discusses key techno-innovation, production and internationalisation issues before looking at policy approaches taken by European and East Asian countries to renewable energy generally and wind energy more specifically. Finally, obstacles to the future development of the wind energy sector are discussed.