Vestas has become the first wind turbine manufacturer to install more than 10 GW of capacity in a single year, according to analysts Wood Mackenzie.
The company installed and grid-connected 11.3 GW of wind capacity in 2019, an increase of 1.5 GW over 2018, setting a new record and putting it ahead of rivals Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), GE Renewable Energy and Goldwind.
According to Wood Mackenzie, Vestas installed capacity in over 35 markets globally, with projects in the Americas accounting for half of all installations. SGRE climbed to second position, dominating the 1.9 GW UK offshore market and achieving over 1 GW of onshore installations in the US and Spain.
GE grew its global dominance by connecting projects in 24 markets, with first-ever turbine installations in Greece, Oman, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Chile reaching 8.7 GW. This is a 60 per cent increase on 2018.
The Wood Mackenzie report, which determines global, regional and country wind turbine manufacturer market shares, reveals that 2019 was a year of market consolidation.
“The top five turbine OEMs – Vestas, SGRE, GE, Goldwind and Envision – increased their combined market share by 10 per cent from two years ago, capturing 68 per cent of global capacity,” said Shashi Barla, Wood Mackenzie Principal Analyst
Sitting just outside the top five, MingYang grew its market share by nearly three percentage points. The company doubled installations in China to 4.4 GW, including record offshore activity of over 500 MW driven by projects in Guangdong.
“China’s big three OEMs – Goldwind, Envision and MingYang – each recorded their highest ever installs in 2019. This challenged the West’s big three – Vestas, GE and SGRE – who also logged record installations last year.
“Despite eight Chinese OEMs ranking among the top 15 globally, only 0.6 GW of wind turbine capacity was exported. This illustrates China’s heavy dependence on the domestic market.
“Smaller regional players, including Senvion, Suzlon, INOX, XEMC and WEG, lost market share due to challenging market conditions. This resulted in financial difficulties that will jeopardise their future participation in the wind sector,” said Shashi Barla.
Despite a healthy outlook for the wind turbine supply chain over the next decade, the coronavirus presents near-term hurdles for OEMS, Wood Mackenzie added.
“Wind turbine OEMs with exposure to global wind turbine supply chain hubs including China, India and Spain will see a negative market share impact in 2020. This is primarily due to coronavirus lockdown measures that have obstructed manufacturing facilities in these countries,” Barla said.
