German manufacturers of wind farms were able to consolidate their dominant position on the international market in 2005, says the German Energy Agency (DENA) in a press release on its renewable energy initiatives. With an increase of 55% in exports, reaching 2.87 billion Euro, they acquired 38% of the global market. According to market indicators the 2005 export quota has increased to reach 71%. The growing use of renewable energy sources in North America and Asia helped the German renewable energy industry to take the lead in almost all technology sectors. The solar energy and photovoltaic industry had an export turnover of about 500 million Euro in 2005. The export quota was about 14% of the total turnover of 3.7 billion, of which almost 3 billion Euro are represented by the photovoltaic sector.
The German photovoltaic industry increased its production of solar panels by 67% and increased its share of global installed capacity to 25%. But it still manufactures mainly for the domestic market. The same applies to the solar thermal energy sector. Major export markets are the USA, Spain, the Near and Middle East, and North Africa. In the sphere of hydroelectrics, Germany has an excellent position with an export share of almost 80%.
Info from: www.bundestag.de (Umwelt Magazin, Germany, www.UmweltMagazin.de) and EEP Newsletter (www.eep.org)