According to research published by Global Data, China held 59 percent of the global market in 2011, with 37,385 installations, compared to just 18 percent of the market, with 11,085.

The data comes as China’s deputy director of the National Energy Bureau (NEB) predicted the nation’s grid-connected wind capacity will exceed 60 GW by the end of this year, making wind power the third largest power source in China, after thermal power and hydropower. By the end of June, China had 52.58 GW of wind capacity connected to the grid.

But China’s wind companies have all struggled this year as installations were slowed by the government as a result of grid-access issues, said NEB deputy director Liu Qi. He told a conference in Beijing that China would innovate by adapting to the intermittent characteristics of wind power generation. The country will use more wind power for heating in winter, irrigation of farmland and have more wind power consumed locally.

Liu added that China should enhance cooperation with other countries with advanced wind power technologies. Chinese wind power companies should strengthen innovation capacity and participate in establishing international norms and rules.

The Global Data analysts predicted that global cumulative wind power installed capacity will show steady growth until the end of the decade, increasing to 658 GW by the end of 2020 from 238 GW last year. It also noted that blades for offshore wind farms will take a far greater slice of the market. In 2011 blades destined for offshore wind farms accounted for just 1 percent of the global market — by 2020 this will rise to 11 percent.

Market researchers BTM said about 470 MW of new offshore wind capacity was brought online last year, comprising of 127 turbines in four countries, with the UK and China representing the two largest markets.

By 2016, the global offshore market will expand 5.6 GW annually, with a quarter of the capacity going up in Asia. And by 2021 China will be the world’s largest market, followed by the UK and Germany — with Europe still accounting for 63% of the overall market, BTM predicts.

IN THE NEWS

China’s renewable energy power generation up 48 percent year-on-year: Electricity generated from renewable sources in China rose 48 percent to 92.7 billion kilowatt hours in October from a year ago as installations grew, State Electricity Regulatory Commission said. Power from wind farms surged 40 percent in October compared with the same period a year earlier, it said, as the nation added 7.2 GW of wind-power generation capacity in the first 10 months of the year.

China’s Goldwind bids for $926 million project in Australia: Chinese turbine manufacturer Goldwind is seeking to buy a 157-turbine wind farm in Australia as it expands its presence in overseas markets. The company has joined with Chinese power company China Three Gorges New Energy Corporation in a bid for the Stockyard Hill project owned by Origin Energy in Victoria. The planned sale is estimated to be worth A$900m ($926m), according to a Wall Street Journal report.

JinkoSolar’s loss smaller than expected, company bets on China: China’s JinkoSolar reported a smaller-than-expected loss as costs fell and strong sales in China made up for weakness in markets such as Europe, and the company said half of its 2013 revenue would come from the Asian country. The company said it was shifting focus to emerging markets such as China, South Africa and South America as the European Union could follow the United States in imposing tariffs on Chinese solar products.

Malaysia may set up similar funding system to one in India for renewable energy: Malaysia’s minister of energy Datuk Seri Peter Chin said he was impressed by the financing model for renewable energy projects in India during a recent ministerial meeting he had with his Indian counterpart. “India has created a specific bank to promote renewable energy and I am very impressed by what it has done,” he told a press conference.

IEA chief backs Australia’s carbon tax: Australia’s controversial new carbon tax has been endorsed by the head of the International Energy Agency as an essential part of reducing energy demand.

A DEEPER LOOK

China grabs Latin American wind share with cheap loans: Stephan Nielsen of Bloomberg writes Chinese wind-turbine makers have broken into the South American market by offering government-backed loans at interest rates as much as 50 percent lower than local offerings. The package deals can get buyers to choose Chinese machines over those of Western manufacturers, much in the way the U.S. government helps American exporters sell everything from cotton to satellites by guaranteeing loans or insurance.

The future of Taiwan solar: will recent gains continue? Tim Ferry writes in Renewable Energy World that in a welcome departure from recent trends, Taiwan saw its solar industry revenues rise by 7.5% on increased shipment to China, Japan and the U.S. The gains arrest five months of declines, but do they signal a turnaround for the industry?

ON THE HORIZON 

India’s renewable energy sector to create 2.4 million jobs by 2020: India’s renewable energy sector create up to 2.4 million jobs by 2020, according to a report jointly commissioned by environmental group Greenpeace, the Global Wind Energy Council and the European Renewable Energy Council. To date, the sector employs 200,000 people, but this could jump 14 times by 2030 with the right policies and investments in place, the India Energy [R]evolution report said.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Sooner or later, investors are going to realize that if they are not investing in clean energy sector then they are making a terrible mistake. We will get to a stage where there will be a tipping point, where investment in clean energy sector will be almost compulsory, so that those people who aren’t doing will be the odd ones out, rather than those people who doing it. It is a matter of changing the risk.” — Oliver Yates, new chief executive of Australia’s A$10 billion ($10.5 billion) Clean Energy Finance Corporation to RenewEconomy