China has doubled the amount of energy generated from windmills last year, a report from the global wind industry said Wednesday.

The Global Wind Energy Council, which represents companies that make and manage wind power stations, said the sector grew rapidly last year ¡ª with total wind capacity up 31% ¡ª despite the economic downturn.

The market for new wind turbines was worth $63 billion in 2009, it said.

China became the biggest market for new wind turbines last year, as it doubled power capacity from 12 gigawatts to 25 gigawatts.

China is aiming to increase that sixfold ¡ª to 150 gigawatts ¡ª by 2020. The Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association says it could hit that target far earlier.