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Larger turbines and offshore wind boost 2018 global wind turbine orders
16 May 2019IHS Markit Energy Expert
IHS Markit recorded 39 GW of publicly declared wind turbine
orders globally in 2018, up 28% from the previous year. In total,
orders were placed for three hundred projects to be supplied with
over ten thousand turbines by twenty-one turbine manufacturers.
Offshore wind orders boosted Europe to the top spot in 2018. The
Asia Pacific region dropped to second place amid a decline in
recorded orders from China and India, to some extent
counterbalanced by the momentum of the Australian market. Orders
from North America more than doubled last year strongly influenced
by the scheduled phase-out of the U.S. Production Tax Credit (PTC)
and resulting expansion plans of the country's major developers.
Together, Latin America and the Africa/Middle East region grew
their orders by 69% to 5.5 GW in 2018, as the regions' largest
markets Brazil and South Africa recovered after a slump in
2017.
Figure 1: Recorded Wind
Turbine Orders Globally | 2018
Danish manufacturer Vestas took the leading spot in 2018 with
nearly one-fourth of the total ordered capacity closely followed by
Siemens Gamesa. GE derived most of its orders from framework
agreements signed in the U.S., in contrast with the top two players
who catered to a global customer base. Nordex jumped to fourth
place growing its orders threefold in 2018 and benefiting from the
popularity of its ACCIONA Windpower technology portfolio in Latin
America and the Africa/Middle East region. The top five was
completed by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind riding high on its success in
the U.K. and Netherlands, further complemented by its new
technology portfolio.
A global shift towards larger turbines was observed in 2018.
Last year turbines rated above 3 MW accounted for over two-thirds
of the total order intake, with rotor diameters also increasing to
over 120 meters. Growing project development in medium to low wind
sites coupled with falling auction prices in major markets has
catalyzed this trend with demand for turbines rated between 2 - 3
MW now concentrated in only a handful of markets including India,
China and the United States. Turbine manufacturers have responded
strongly to this trend with multiple announcements in 2018/19 for
onshore turbines rated between 4 - 5 MW, and offshore turbines
rated between 10 - 12 MW.
IHS Markit closely tracks wind turbine orders globally and
publishes data and key insights in its Global Announced Wind
Turbine Order Tracker report on a half-yearly basis. For more
information on recorded orders please
visit our global power and renewables page.
Indra Mukherjee is a Global Wind Power Analyst for IHS
Markit
Figure 1: Recorded Wind
Turbine Orders Globally | 2018
