The market for European wind power capacity broke new records in 2006, according to the annual statistics issued by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

7,588MW of wind power capacity, worth some €9 billion, was installed last year in the EU, an increase of 23% compared to 2005. The cumulative wind power capacity operating in the EU increased by 19% and now exceeds 48,000MW. Germany and Spain continue to attract the majority of investments. In 2006 these two countries represented 50% of the EU market. However, the figures confirm a healthy trend in the European market towards less reliance on Germany and Spain. In 2002, only 680MW of European wind power capacity was installed outside the first-mover countries: Germany, Spain and Denmark. Last year, the figure was 3,755MW.EWEA estimates that Europe accounted for approximately 50% of global wind power capacity installed during 2006.