China dominates global wind turbine market shows BNEF report

Wind turbine developers commissioned 36% more capacity worldwide than in 2022 after capacity additions skyrocketed in the world’s largest market, China.

This is according to the 2023 Global Wind Turbine Market Shares report from research provider BloombergNEF (BNEF).

The report provides insights into the top turbine manufacturers worldwide and shows that out of the top 10 firms providing turbines, six are Chinese. The six firms commissioned 65.1GW out of the 118GW total capacity commissioned in 2023.

Chinese turbine manufacturer Goldwind maintained its pole position as the world’s leading wind turbine supplier. The company commissioned 16.4GW of projects last year, 95% of which were in its home market.

Envision, another Chinese player, took second place, adding 15.4GW.

Denmark's Vestas came in at third, the only European manufacturer to make the top five, with 13.4GW.

“It’s no surprise that Chinese turbine makers dominate the top five in our ranking, as buildout of gigawatt-scale wind projects and an end to pandemic restrictions sent installations soaring last year,” said Cristian Dinca, wind analyst at BloombergNEF and lead author of the report.

According to the report, Chinese turbine makers are not only showing their prowess in domestic markets but are also expanding to foreign markets.

In 2023, Chinese firms commissioned 1.7GW of wind projects in 20 markets overseas, including five EU member states, almost three times as many markets as in 2018. BNEF cites steep turbine price reductions, which have offered a chance for Chinese companies to expand their exports as the main reason for this.

Goldwind had the largest foreign footprint of the Chinese players, with 748MW, followed closely by Envision with 561MW. According to BNEF, prices for Chinese-made wind turbines delivered outside mainland China are 20% lower than those of US and European companies.

US-based GE, which finished third in 2022, fell to sixth place in 2023, as its installations dropped 35% in its home market. The firm still maintained its spot as the top US turbine maker, but wind additions in the country fell to their lowest levels since 2017, according to the report.

Have you read?
China to dominate global solar manufacturing to 2026 says Wood Mackenzie
Aquaculture project combining floating wind and solar completed in China

Europe's Siemens Gamesa once again failed to secure the number one offshore wind spot for the third year in a row.

“The boom in China last year hides a worrying trend, as new additions elsewhere were just 8% higher than in 2022,” said Oliver Metcalfe, head of wind research at BloombergNEF. “There are signs that growth will accelerate, though. A surge in US turbine orders shows the early impact of the new subsidies in the country’s Inflation Reduction Act, while a boom in project approvals in countries like Germany suggests that Europe’s permitting reform is working.”

In offshore wind, Chinese turbine maker Mingyang doubled its annual installations to almost 3GW in 2023, becoming the largest global supplier of turbines at sea for the first time.

With 7.6GW, China was once again the largest market for new offshore wind capacity, accounting for more than two-thirds of the global total in 2023.

Mainland China accounted for two-thirds of global build, states the report, while the US was the second largest market, adding 7.2GW. European countries added a record 15.3GW in 2023, 16% more than the 13.2GW installed in 2022.

Brazil was the largest Latin American market, installing 5.0GW capacity.

Europe's plan to stay competitive as China dominates

In response to increasing pressure from Chinese manufacturers, the European Commission presented the European Wind Power Action Plan in October 2023 to help maintain a healthy and competitive wind energy supply chain.

A key tenet of the plan was to ensure a fair and competitive international environment. The Commission committed to closely monitoring "possible unfair trade practices which benefit foreign wind manufacturers and will continue to use trade agreements to facilitate access to foreign markets..."

Also of interest: Will there be one winner in the global industrial race?

According to Recharge News, Siemens Gamesa CEO Jochen Eickholt pushed for energy sovereignty and independence at the recent WindEurope conference in Bilbao, stating "...we need to make sure we can continue to supply technologies without too much dependency on other parts of the globe."

“And we also need to make sure that capacities on the manufacturing side of things are not reduced down to minimum," added Eickholt.