The
wind
sector
contributed
€32.4bn
($42.2bn)
to
the
EU’s
gross
domestic
product
(GDP)
in
2010,
equivalent
to
0.26%
of
Europe’s
total,
while
providing
employment
to
240,000
people,
according
to
EWEA.
By
comparison,
the
footwear
sector
accounted
for
0.21%
of
GDP,
while
civil
aviation
contributed
1.5%.
But
wind
is
only
getting
started.
Over
the
next
10
years
the
number
of
workers
it
employs
will
double,
while
its
contribution
to
Europe’s
GDP
will
increase
nearly
threefold,
EWEA
predicts.
By
2020
the
EU
wind
industry
will
be
worth
€94.5bn,
equivalent
to
0.59%
of
GDP
–
and
€173bn…
