EU’s ‘Recession-Busting’ Wind Industry Set to Triple in Value
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-16/eu-s-recession-busting-wind-industry-set-to-triple-in-value
The European Unions recession- busting wind power industry is forecast to triple in value as its labor force doubles in the 10 years through 2020, the European Wind Energy Association said.
The contribution of the wind industry to the economy of the 27-nation EU will rise to 94.5 billion euros ($123 billion) in 2020 from 32.4 billion euros in 2010, the lobby group, known as EWEA, said today in a report published in Copenhagen at the start of its annual conference. Jobs supported by the industry will jump to 520,000 from 238,154, it said.
Wind energy is a recession-busting industry, EWEA President Arthouros Zervos said in a statement. It is providing increasing economic activity, more jobs and exports every year to an EU struggling with an economic crisis intensified by ever-increasing amounts of fuel being imported at rising costs.
The EU is chasing a target of getting 20 percent of all energy for power, heating and transport from renewables by 2020. The contribution of the wind industry to EU economic output increased by a third in 2010 from 2007, according to todays report. EWEA said Feb. 6 that wind power capacity expanded more than 10 percent last year with 21 percent of the blocs new power capacity coming from wind.
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