China topped Japan in generating wind power in 2005, with China's capacity increasing 65 percent from the previous year to 1,260 megawatts, the Global Wind Energy Council said in a recent report.
Japan's capacity came to 1,231 megawatts in 2005, up 32 percent from 936 megawatts the previous year. China's capacity totaled 764 megawatts in 2004.
China, along with the U.S., has boosted wind power in conjunction with new legislation aimed at promoting it, some experts said.
They also said Japan will lag further behind other nations unless it comes up with measures to strongly support the technology.
Total wind power capacity worldwide came to 59,322 megawatts in 2005, up 25 percent on the year, with Germany having the highest capacity, at 18,428 megawatts, followed by Spain, at 10,027 megawatts, and the U.S., at 9,149 megawatts, according to the Brussels-based council.
Of the total, 11,769 megawatts were newly added in 2005, up 43.4 percent from the previous year in terms of annual additions, the council said.
A total of $14 billion for the year was spent worldwide on new facilities, it said.