GERMANY today proved itself the world leader in one of the fastestgrowing engineering segments wind power.

The German Engineering Federation (VDMA), said its exports of windmills and associated equipment last year totalled e4 billion (Pounds 2.7 billion) of the global industry's e10.6 billion in sales.

"For all of 2006 we're counting on good results similar to those of 2005, because of the booming export market," said Norbert Giese, a wind energy expert with the VDMA and a director of Siemens Wind Power.

According to the German Wind Energy Institute, exports of Germanmade wind energy equipment rose 55% between 2004 and 2005 to just under e2.9 billion.

The biggest buyer of German exports is the US, where wind energy production is expanding dramatically.