Asia to drive global wind market
Danish consulting firms BTM and Make have published analyses on global wind power market trends. In 2011, nearly 42 gigawatts – some 23,640 turbines in 50 countries – was installed, bringing the global total up to around 241 gigawatts. Vestas managed to defend its market leadership.
In its International Wind Power Development World Market Update 2011, BTM finds that wind power made up 2.26 percent of global electricity demand – and Europe lost its position as the leading wind power continent, with only 24.5 percent of all turbines being installed in Europe. It is the worst result ever posted for Europeans. In comparison, five years ago Europe made up 51 percent of the market.
Asia now makes up 52.1 percent of the global wind power pie, growing by 34.1 percent from 63.6 gigawatts in 2010 to 85.3 gigawatts last year. China remains a leader in Asia with 17.6 gigawatts of newly installed capacity. India added 3.3 gigawatts. New installations grew by around 44 percent in North and South America, which make up 22.9 percent of the market.
BTM counted six new offshore projects with a total capacity of 470 megawatts. But an additional 4,000 megawatts are currently under construction off the coast of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the UK, and China.
The strong growth on the Asian wind power market is also leading to a shift in market shares among turbine manufacturers. Last year, three Chinese turbine manufacturers had entered the top 10, but that number increased to four last year. The Danes found that Goldwind, Sinovel, United Power and Mingyang are now in the global top 10.
But BTM also found that Vestas defended its market leadership even as its market share fell by 1.4 percentage points to 12.9 percent. Goldwind came in second with 9.4 percent of the market, followed by GE Wind of the United States at 8.8 percent. Positions 4 to 10 were held by Gamesa (8.2 percent), Enercon (7.9 percent), Suzlon (7.7 percent), Sinovel (7.3 percent), United Power (7.1 percent), Siemens Wind (6.3 percent) and Mingyang (2.9 percent).
Industry analysts at Make came to similar findings in their Global Wind Turbine Market Share Report published at the end of March; it only counts turbines already connected to the grid with the exception of China, where installed capacity includes turbines set up but not yet connected to the grid (for the distinction, see this report at Renewables International). Make found that Vestas has the biggest share of the market at 12.9 percent, followed by Goldwind at 9.4 percent. Enercon, Siemens and Suzlon each come in at 7.6 percent. GE Wind comes in sixth with 7.4 percent, followed by Sinovel with 7.2 percent. United Power, Gamesa and Mingyang bring up the rear.
Make says that more independent power producers in China are installing high-quality turbines with greater outputs instead of merely purchasing those that cost the least upfront. As a result, Goldwind, Sinovel and Dongfang (which did not finish in the top 10) have lost market share considerably.
In its analysis, BTM Consult also found that more direct-drive turbines are being sold. The technology now makes up 21.2 percent of the market. The biggest buyers of wind turbines remain power companies, with 33.3 percent of the cumulative installed global wind power capacity belonging to the 15 largest wind farm owners.
BTM expects the global wind power market to grow by 3.5 percent this year and to come in at around 10 percent per annum up to 2016 in terms of installations. This estimate is five percentage points below last year's BTM says the reduction takes account of the debt crisis in the euro zone, but the market analysts expect wind power to continue to grow strongly in Asia, where power demand remains high. In Europe, the battle against global warming also drives wind energy, whereas climate change and energy security are the main issues in the US. (Regine Krüger / Craig Morris)
