Sep 21 - Datamonitor

A new industry report has claimed that just over a third of the world's electricity could be supplied by wind power by 2050, resulting in a saving of 113 billion tonnes of CO2.

The report, from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace International, concludes that developing wind power is key in the fight against climate change. Looking at the future potential for wind power to the year 2050, the report states that 16.5% of the world's electricity could be supplied by wind power by 2020, and 34% by 2050.

This would result in a saving of 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2020, and 113 billion tonnes in total by 2050.

"The required CO2 reduction of one third by 2020 and half by 2050 can only be achieved if wind power plays a major role in the power sector, said Sven Teske, from Greenpeace International."We urge governments to support wind power development via electricity market reforms and by cutting down subsidies for fossil and nuclear fuels."

In addition to climate change, other issues such as security of energy supply and the increasing volatility of fossil fuel prices are important drivers for wind power, the report claims.

"Wind energy is the most attractive solution to the world's energy challenges. It is clean and fuel-free. Moreover, wind is indigenous and enough wind blows across the globe to cope with the ever increasing electricity demand," added Arthouros Zervos, GWEC's chairman. "Wind technology is not a dream for the future - it is real, it is mature and it can be deployed on a large scale."