European wind power experienced an amazingly robust ride in 2009 even though the year began with an ongoing global recession and ended with continued inertia caused by political leaders failing to reach an effective agreement on limiting climate change. Indeed, there is only one conclusion to be reached following a quick review of press releases issued by the European Wind Energy Association in 2009: wind power was, and is, a force of good in an increasingly complex and diverse world whipsawed by economic, energy and environmental problems.

As a result of being local, affordable, sustainable, dependable and rapidly deployable, wind power's reputation continued to grow among policy makers and entrepreneurs alike as a smart investment in our collective future. Further enhancing wind power's popularity - especially during recessionary times - was the quickly escalating number of good-paying jobs associated with the demand for wind turbines. The fact that wind power is already a key solution to fighting global warming only served to highlight the industry's many benefits.

The wind industry's high export figures correspond to a growth of approx. 20 pct. compared to 2007, where the industry exported a total of 4.7 billion Euros of Danish wind turbine technology abroad. This means that the wind power industry exports amounted to 7.2 pct. of the total Danish exports in 2008.The Danish Wind Industry Association has just published the annual industry statistics for 2008 which show that the industry last year had a 5.7 billion Euros export of wind technology and had 28,400 employed in the sector at the end of 2008. Thus 2008 was again a record year for the wind industry and it is now among the biggest export industries in Denmark. Since then the financial crisis has turned the "world upside down" - and 2009 looks far more bleak than just a few months ago. "It went well for the export of Danish energy technology and it went particularly well for the wind industry's exports in 2008 as it accounted for more than 70 pct. of the total Danish exports of energy technology", notes Jan Hylleberg and continues, "It is particularly derived from the fact that Danish suppliers are increasingly exporting components and services to foreign producers. The Danish producers have been global for years. Now the Danish suppliers are greatly after it and it is a trend I think we will continue to see."

"With over 5,000 participants, the 2007 European Wind Energy Conference (EWEC) has reflected the enormous potential of wind power as well as its challenges", said Arthouros Zervos at the closing session of EWEC 2007 organised by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) in Milan this week. During four days, wind energy professionals have analysed and debated the steps required for meeting a large part of European electricity needs by wind power. There is little doubt that wind energy will make a substantial contribution to achieving the European Council's recently adopted target of 20% of EU energy consumption coming from renewables by 2020. According to EWEA, installed wind energy capacity in Europe could reach 180 GW by 2020, enough to cover between 13% and 16% of EU electricity consumption. For that to happen, the target agreed by EU heads of States needs to be rapidly translated into effective legislation. During the Milan conference, the main challenges have been discussed by wind turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, developers, utilities, research institutes, national wind power associations together with national authorities and the European institutions. The conference conclusions will be fed into the ongoing negotiations on the new regulatory framework for renewables.