The global demand for materials in the production of wind turbine blades grew by over 20% per year in the last five years, according to a new report from AMI Consulting. The market for wind turbine blades has been one of the fastest growing of any composite application, with strong growth in Europe, North America and, more recently, Asia.

While global materials usage has risen strongly, the report states that there are uncertainties ahead and changing market dynamics. In many parts of the world, governmental support for wind energy is weakening due to budgetary constraints (with consequences both for generation capacity and the distribution network); however, the long-term prospects remain encouraging.

The report estimates the value of the global composite blade market to be about €4 billion (approximately $5 billion) in 2011, of which approximately €1.5 billion (approximately $1.8 billion) was raw materials. 

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