Turkey’s wind power capacity increases over 3,000 MW in 2014

Turkey’s wind power capacity increased to over 3,000 megawatts (MW) with the installation of new facilities totaling 804 MW in 2014, according to wind power body the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Turkey’s wind power capacity rose to 3,763 MW in 2014, according to the GWEC’s Global Report, which also showed the growth of the wind power industry around the world. “After a slowdown in 2013, the global wind industry set a new record for annual installations in 2014. Globally, 51,477 MW of new wind-powered generating capacity was added in 2014,” said the report. The European market grew marginally in 2014, with 12,820 MW of new capacity, just shy of 2012’s record, the statement said. Germany’s 5,279 MW of new capacity smashed the old record and cemented the country’s position as the European market leader, with the U.K. a distant second at 1,736 MW. Sweden passed the 1,000 MW mark for the first time with 1,050 MW, and France was the last of four European markets surpassing 1 GW, with 1,042 MW installed last year. China continued to drive global wind power growth, setting a new record in 2014 with 23,351 MW of new wind power, representing 45 percent of the global market. The world-leading Asian market’s total installations amounted to 26,161 MW, with India’s 2,315 MW a distant second to China, although the report said the stage had been set for a new round of market growth in that country. Overall, this year’s record-setting figure represented a 44 percent increase in the annual market, and was a solid sign of the recovery of the industry after a rough patch in the past few years, with a cumulative total from installations standing at 369,553 MW at the end of 2014, said the report.