Windpower has for several years held a leading position as the fastest growing energy source worldwide. Its annual growth rates amount to over 30 per cent on a global average. In 2001 alone,approximately 6800 MW of windpower output was added to the grid worldwide. Total installed capacity reached 25,000 MW at the end of 2001. It is estimated that this capacity will more than double overthe next five years to reach 60,000 MW. "Germany accounts for 40 per cent of the capacity added last year; in other words, we are world champions of windpower. This success is due to the fact that wehave a stable and reliable framework in place in Germany", the Federal Environment Minister said.
Electricity feeding regulations modelled on those of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act have now also proved successful in Spain, France, Portugal and Brazil. "The German system ofcompensation is a big international success. The Renewable Energy Sources Act has now been translated into seven languages", Trittin said, adding that such a regime was much more effective thanfunding from national budgets, providing the business community with a high level of certainty for future investment decisions.
Trittin believes that the use of windpower at sea is a "consistent next step" in wind energy use. As part of the Federal Government's sustainability strategy, a strategy for offshore wind energyuse was drawn up under the supervision of the Federal Environment Ministry. Its objective is to increase the share of windpower in power consumption in Germany to approximately 25 per cent over thenext three decades.