By Sylvia Westall

Reuters

BERLIN - The global wind energy market is set to keep growing in 2008, despite pressure on turbine makers from raw materials prices, but it is likely to slow in Germany, the German Engineering Federation said on Tuesday.

Thorsten Herdan, head of VDMA power systems, said Germany, one of the world's biggest markets, would probably experience a further slowdown after shrinking by 25 percent in 2007.

"Worldwide we see further growth," Herdan said.

"The situation in the supply markets is a little tight and that has to do with the fact that lots of companies have invested in new capacity," he told a news conference.

The world market for wind energy grew by 30 percent in 2007, with around 20,000 megawatts installed, the VDMA said. This was compared with 32 percent growth in 2006.

Herdan said China had experienced three-fold growth while the U.S. market had doubled in size.