Wind in numbers

 

1,155,000

 Jobs created by the global wind industry at the end of 2016.
55.6 The record number of 55.6GW of wind power installed in 2016, bringing the total installed global capacity to 486.8GW at the end of 2016.
637 In 2016, wind power avoided over 637 million tonnes of CO2 emissions globally.
5,500 The number of average EU households that one 6 MW offshore turbine can power.
8,000  The number of parts a wind turbine has.
10,000,000 The amount of homes powered by wind energy in Spain.
49

The share % of all the electricity used by South Australians in June 2016 was generated by wind power, and on occasions during the month provided all the state’s electricity needs.
5,497,522 The amount of avoided CO2 emissions by wind power each year in Brazil.
42.8 China’s share of global wind installations in 2016. 
37.6 Share % of Denmark’s electricity consumption was covered by wind energy in 2016. The Danish government aims to get 50% of its electricity from wind by 2020 and 100% from renewable energy by 2050.
341,320 The number of wind turbines spinning around the world at the end of 2016.
104,934 The amount of wind turbines up and running in China at the end of 2016.
52,343

The number of wind turbines in the US at the end of 2016.
3,589 The number of offshore wind turbines in Europe at the end of 2016.
10.4 In an average wind energy year, the  EU’s current wind power capacity covers 10.4% of the EU’s electricity consumption.
14,384 The amount of offshore wind power installed globally at the end of 2016 in megawatts. 
3 It takes a wind turbine 3-6 months to recoup the energy that goes into producing, operating and recycling the wind turbine after its 20 to 25 year lifetime.
1 The amount of subsidies in USD given to all renewable energy technologies, versus the $USD 6-7 in subsidies given to fossil fuels (IEA World Energy Outlook).
3.7 The percentage of global electricity supplied by wind power in 2015.
51 Wind power installed more than any other form of power generation in Europe in 2016, accounting for 51% of total 2016 power capacity installations.
10,000 A farmer from Iowa who uses one tenth of a hectare for a wind turbine could earn about $USD 10,000 per year, compared to about $USD 300 using the same area to grow corn for ethanol.
17 The cost of integrating large, conventional power plants onto the power system in Texas is more than 17 times larger than the cost of reliably integrating wind energy.
8 The largest wind turbine in the world is the Vestas 8 MW turbine with a rotor diameter of 164 meters.
88.4 The world’s longest wind turbine blade is LM Wind Power’s 88.4 meters long blade.
102 The amount of megawatts in the first large commercial offshore project outside of Europe – the Shanghai Donghai Bridge offshore project.
89 The % share of EU citizens who are in favour of wind power, according to a 2011 poll.
2 A 10 MW wind farm can easily be built in two months. A larger 50 MW wind farm can be built in six months. The Butendiek 288 MW offshore wind farm with 80 turbines in the North Sea was built in just 16 months and now supplies clean power to 370,000 households. 
520,000 The number of people expected to be employed by the wind industry in the EU by 2020. 
2,014 The number of megawatts of wind power installed in Brazil in 2016. Brazil has become a leader in the South American wind energy market, reaching a total of more than 10.74GW.
6.6 The number of GW installed in Xin Jiang Province in China at the end of 2015, making it the second province after Inner Mongolia to pass the 10 GW milestone. Other provinces aiming to reach at least 10 GW include Gansu and HeBei.
17 Wind power farms generate between 17 and 39 times as much power as they consume, compared to 16 times for nuclear plants and 11 times for coal plants.
29 Amount of countries having more than 1,000 MW of wind power installed across the world; 9 countries have installed more than 10,000 MW. 
107.2 Amount in $billion invested in wind power globally in 2017 (source: BNEF), making it one of the fastest growing industrial segments in the world (source BNEF).
387 The amount of million cubic meters of water use avoided by wind energy in the EU, equivalent to the average annual household water use of nearly 7 million EU citizens (source: EWEA). 
2,000

The amount of water in liters that wind power can save per MWh against other energy sources (source: US Department of Energy).