Record Amount of Wind Turbine Capacity Ordered Globally in 2019

2019 saw nearly 100 GW of global wind turbine order capacity, shattering the previous record set in 2018, according to a new analysis.

2019 saw nearly 100 GW of global wind turbine order capacity, shattering the previous record set in 2018, according to a new analysis from Wood Mackenzie. As noted in the report, ‘Global Wind Turbine Order Analysis: Q1 2020’, this record demand resulted in an estimated USD 78 billion in wind turbine order capacity in 2019, USD 25 billion of that total is attributed to Q4 2019. As per the analysis, the global wind turbine order intake increased by 8.4 GW in Q4 2019 and 39 GW for the full year.

China is integral to this growth, both onshore and offshore, with developers in the country ordering an astounding 50 GW of wind turbine capacity in 2019. A perfect demand storm last year yielded three consecutive quarters of 12 GW+ of wind turbine order intake in the country.

“Demand in China was primarily driven by the expiration of the feed-in-tariff (FIT) but was also enabled by new transmission capacity and the easing of red warnings in Northern provinces,” said Luke Lewandowski, Wood Mackenzie Research Director.

It further added that the global offshore order intake reached 17 GW last year, with orders in China accounting for 76 percent of total demand.

“A nearly 2 GW surge in offshore orders in Taiwan last year – and to a lesser extent in Vietnam – resulted in firm offshore wind turbine order intake in the Asia Pacific, excluding China, exceeding offshore order intake in Europe for the first time within the annual period,” added Lewandowski.

Demand for 4 MW+ onshore turbine platforms increased by 202 percent year-over-year, with a remarkable 8 GW ordered in China alone. According to Wood Mackenzie’s figures, developers globally ordered more than 1 GW for seven different onshore turbine models rated at 4 MW or higher last year.

Lewandowski said “a lower share of orders for offshore projects in Europe lowered the global average turbine rating for offshore orders to 5.8 GW. However, increasing demand in China for turbines in the 6-8 MW class and accelerated commercialisation of offshore models rated more than 10 MW have increased the market’s average rating year-over-year.”

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas dominated in 2019. The company won the most wind turbine order capacity in every quarter, averaging 4.5 GW per quarter and nearly 18 GW for the year.

“Chinese OEMs claimed six spots in the full-year top ten rankings for order intake, led by SEwind which recorded 4.9 GW of offshore orders. This was the first time a non-Western OEM won the top spot for the sector,” concluded Lewandowski.