2008年初，當(dāng)我們慶祝全球風(fēng)電裝機容量達到100千兆瓦大關(guān)時，我們感到又是一個美好的一年。事實上，我們根本不知道下半年會有多戲劇性。首先，好消息是：由于美國和中國市場的驚人增長，該行業(yè)超過了所有人的預(yù)期，最終年市場規(guī)模超過27GW，全球市場規(guī)模超過120GW。該行業(yè)目前在全球擁有40多萬名員工，2008年安裝的新發(fā)電設(shè)備價值超過360億歐元（近500億美元）。美國的裝機容量達到創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的8.4GW，超過德國，躍居全球裝機容量第一位，并在此過程中創(chuàng)造了35000個新的就業(yè)機會。在中國，裝機容量再次翻了一番，連續(xù)第四年達到12千兆瓦以上，中國將很快挑戰(zhàn)美國，成為全球第一。歐洲的工業(yè)繼續(xù)擴大和深化，盡管2008年仍由常年的市場領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者德國和西班牙引領(lǐng)，但目前歐洲大陸有10個國家的裝機容量超過1000兆瓦。早在2008年上半年，隨著原油價格穩(wěn)步攀升至每桶150美元，人們對金融業(yè)的混亂狀況越來越感到不安。隨著金融危機開始蔓延到“實體”經(jīng)濟，信貸開始收緊。當(dāng)銀行在秋天開始像多米諾骨牌一樣倒下時，任何人都很難獲得任何新項目的融資，包括風(fēng)力發(fā)電。報紙的頭條新聞開始預(yù)測可再生能源熱潮的崩潰，而那些暴露在公開市場的公司在過去幾個月里經(jīng)歷了艱難的歷程。毫無疑問，2009年（至少）將是艱難的一年，因為我們?nèi)栽诘却?jīng)濟衰退的底部，而且各國政府正在努力支撐銀行業(yè)的基本面，然而，中長期前景依然樂觀。所有使風(fēng)電成為那些尋求建立一個安全、清潔能源未來的人所選擇的技術(shù)的基本驅(qū)動因素仍然存在。風(fēng)力發(fā)電是清潔的，本土的，部署速度快，創(chuàng)造了許多就業(yè)機會，幾乎不用水，而且具有經(jīng)濟競爭力。無論是氣候變化的威脅，還是依賴進口化石燃料造成的宏觀經(jīng)濟不安全，都不會因為經(jīng)濟衰退而消失。中國、美國和歐盟政府似乎同意這一評估，因為它們最近的一攬子刺激計劃都強調(diào)發(fā)展可再生能源，特別是風(fēng)力發(fā)電。至少，中國風(fēng)電行業(yè)繼續(xù)保持領(lǐng)先，基本上沒有受到金融危機的影響。在歐洲，到2020年可再生能源占最終能源消費20%的具有法律約束力的目標(biāo)將繼續(xù)把重點放在風(fēng)能上。最大的問號是美國，因為奧巴馬總統(tǒng)尋求在解決能源安全和氣候變化問題的同時，修復(fù)銀行業(yè)，刺激低迷的經(jīng)濟（不幸的是，這些并不是他唯一的大問題）。祝他好運。最后，我們又做了一次：我們大大低估了2008年風(fēng)電市場的規(guī)模。去年這個時候，我們預(yù)測全球市場約為23GW，但實際情況是高出17%，達到27GW。希望明年這個時候我們也有同樣的驚喜！這是全球風(fēng)能理事會（global wind Energy Council）發(fā)布的第四份關(guān)于全球風(fēng)電產(chǎn)業(yè)現(xiàn)狀的年度報告，全面介紹了目前全球70多個國家的風(fēng)電產(chǎn)業(yè)。本報告的數(shù)據(jù)和國家概況是通過世界各地的GWEC成員協(xié)會和公司以及其他分析師和政府聯(lián)系人收集的。我們感謝我們的貢獻者，并期待著在未來的版本繼續(xù)密切合作。

Early in 2008, when we celebrated the 100GW mark in total  global installed wind energy capacity; we felt we were on  our way to another good year. In fact, we had little idea how  dramatic the second half of the year would be. First, the good news: due to stunning growth in the US and  Chinese markets, the industry exceeded all expectations to  end up with an annual market of more than 27GW, bringing  the global to more than 120GW. The sector now employs  more than 400,000 workers around the world and the  value of new power generation equipment installed in 2008  exceeded €36billion (nearly $US 50 billion). The US installed a record 8.4GW, catapulting it past  Germany to the number one spot in terms of global installed  capacity, and creating 35,000 new jobs in the process. In  China, installed capacity doubled again – for the fourth year  in a row – to reach a total of more than 12GW, and the  country will soon challenge the US for the top spot. Europe’s industry continues to broaden and deepen, and  although in 2008 it was still led by perennial market leaders  Germany and Spain, there are now ten countries on the  continent with more than 1,000MW of installed capacity. Already during the first half of 2008, as the price of crude  oil climbed steadily towards $US 150/barrel, there was  growing unease over the mess in the financial sector. As the  financial crisis started to spill over into the ‘real’ economy,  credit started to tighten. By the time banks started falling like  dominoes in the autumn, it became very difficult for anyone  to get financing for any new projects, including for wind power. Newspaper headlines started predicting the collapse of the  renewable energy boom, and those companies exposed to  public markets have had a rough ride in the past few months. There is no doubt that 2009 (at least) is going to be a  tough year as we continue to wait for the bottom of the  economic downturn and as governments seek to shore up  the fundamentals in the banking sector.The medium and long-term outlooks, however, remain  positive. All of the fundamental drivers that have made wind  power the technology of choice for those seeking to build  a secure, clean energy future are still in place. Wind power  is clean, indigenous, fast to deploy, creates many jobs, uses  virtually no water and is economically competitive. Neither  the threat of climate change nor the macroeconomic  insecurity due to reliance on imported fossil fuel is going to  go away because of a recession. The governments of China, the US and the EU seem to agree  with this assessment, as their recent stimulus packages all  emphasize the development of renewable energy in general,  and wind power in particular. The Chinese wind industry, at  least, continues to power ahead, largely unaffected by the  financial crisis. In Europe, the legally binding target of 20%  of final energy consumption from renewable energy by 2020  will keep the focus on wind energy. The big question mark is  the US, as President Obama seeks to fix the banking sector  and stimulate the flagging economy while tackling energy  security and climate change (and unfortunately, those are  not his only big problems). Good luck to him. Finally, we did it again: we significantly underestimated the  size of the 2008 wind power market. Last year at this time,  we predicted a global market of about 23GW, but the reality  was 17% higher – at 27GW. Let’s hope we have the same  surprise this time next year! This is the fourth annual report on the status of the global  wind industry by the Global Wind Energy Council, and it  provides a comprehensive snapshot of this global industry,  now present in more than 70 countries. The data and country  profiles for this report have been collected through GWEC’s  member associations and companies around the world, as  well as from other analysts and government contacts. We  thank our contributors and look forward to continued close  cooperation for future editions.