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"Sweden has some of the best wind conditions in the world, the costs have decreased and the expansion has finally caught wind", said Johan Ihrfelt, CEO of wind energy company O2.

During 2009, 198 new wind turbines were installed in Sweden. This brings the total number to 1,359. The Swedish government is planning for a tenfold increase in wind energy by 2020, but it’s up to local municipalities to drive this development, the report said.

"Local acceptance is a key success factor for wind energy. A great way to build a sense of ownership and acceptance is for municipalities to own the turbines or for homeowners to buy shares in them", Ihrfelt said.

The electricity harnessed from wind energy during 2009 amounted to 2,5 TWh, an increase of nearly 26 percent compared to 2008, the report said.

At present, wind energy only contributed about 2 percent to total power consumption, something the government plans to increase to 20 percent by 2020.

A modern wind turbine can reduce carbon dioxide emissions with about 5,000 metric tons per year and power 1,000 homes. The Swedish center-right government aims to have an output of renewable energy amounting to 50 percent of energy needs by 2020. Today around 20 percent of Sweden's energy production comes from renewable sources. Last month Sweden’s enterprise minister Maud Olofsson said that some 2,000 new wind power stations would be constructed across the country in the next ten years, according to the report.

Last year in Europe, wind energy accounted for 39 percent of all new electricity generation while Germany produces 10 to 15 times more electricity from wind power than Sweden.

China installed nearly ten times as many new wind turbines as Sweden's total in 2009. China’s investment in renewable energy also for the first time surpassed the US and even doubled the amount of the US to become the world’s No.1 renewable energy investor.