Wind power is today a successful industry supplying millions of people with electricity, creating tens of thousands of jobs and generating billions of income. The pace of change and advancement has been dizzying in this new industry.
The advantages of wind power are significant: environmental protection, economic growth, job creation, diversification of energy supply, rapid installation, innovation and technology transfer. Its fuel is free, abundant and inexhaustible.
However, these advantages are generally still unexploited. Most energy decisions currently made do not consider wind power, and it still faces many barriers and obstacles.
An international consensus on climate change is emerging that states that continuing as usual is not a valid option and that the world must shift to an economy based on clean energy. Some argue that tackling climate change is a daunting challenge and that change is, in a way, too costly for economies and industry. In this dilemma, wind energy is one of the best alternatives in response to stagnation and inaction: it is a powerful, accessible and viable global energy source that is capable of replacing fossil fuels and other polluting sources.
Greenpeace has been developing an intense campaign to establish favorable conditions so that investments in wind energy are feasible in Argentina. The approval of a national law that includes measures in this regard, supplemented by other provincial laws, today creates a favorable framework for energy companies to develop this inexhaustible energy source.
We are also promoting a wind energy growth program in Argentina that would reach a capacity of 3,000 MW by 2013. This would be a first stage for the development of this energy source in the region.
This program seeks to show the triple benefits that wind energy offers the world: benefits for the environment, benefits for industry and benefits for development. The recent evolution of the global market for wind energy shows the realism of this scenario. In the last five years the growth of wind energy has been of the order of 31% per year. In the next four years, the global wind market is estimated to be $ 34 billion.
Wind energy is a powerful tool for sustainable development. Its development should be adopted as a national energy priority. The environment, industry, and the economy can reap significant benefits from a practical plan like the one we present here.
We encourage politicians, legislators, citizens, energy authorities, companies, investors and other stakeholders to support wind power by taking concrete decisions that help to ensure that the target of 3,000 MW by 2013 is achieved. Immense potential lies waiting for decisions to put it at the service of people and the environment.