China Emerged as the Largest Wind Power Market in Terms of Cumulative Installed Capacity in 2010

Thursday 24 November 2011, Amsterdam

Global Wind Power Market will Post Steady Growth during the Forecast Period

The global wind energy market witnessed huge growth from 2009 to 2010 as total wind power capacity grew by 22.3%. Global wind energy installed capacity increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.9% from 74,107 megawatt (MW) in 2006 to 198,203 MW in 2010, of which 36,100 MW came online in 2010. Although the cumulative capacity for wind power grew, there was a fall in annual additions in 2010 by 10.9% as major wind markets such as the US, Germany and Spain faced economic problems following the global economic crisis. The global wind power markets are expected to recover in 2011 due to the huge order intake by major wind manufacturers, the growing Asia-Pacific region, emerging South America and Africa regions, steady European wind markets and recovery in North America. Wind power manufacturers across the world had a high order intake in 2010 with expected delivery deadlines in 2011 and 2012. This will contribute to annual installations in 2011-2012.

The growth of major wind power markets (the US, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, India and China) is expected to slow down during the forecast period 2010-2020. Emerging markets from Asia-Pacific and South and Central America will gain a considerable market share. The growing Asia-Pacific wind power market powered by India, China and other emerging countries such as Republic of Korea, Thailand and Philippines will continue to drive the market in the region. Countries such as Argentina, South Africa, Philippines, Ukraine, Brazil, Republic of Korea and Mexico are some of the nascent wind markets which are set to expand rapidly in the forecast period. Against this backdrop the global wind power installed capacity will reach 718,052 MW by 2020.


China Emerged as the Largest Wind Power Market in Terms of Cumulative Installed Capacity in 2010

China was the global leader with a cumulative installed capacity share of 22.6% in 2010. The country overtook the US as the number one wind power market in terms of new installations in 2009 following the addition of 13.8 GW of wind capacity in that year. China has doubled its cumulative capacity every year during 2006-2009 and grew by 72.4% in 2010 after the addition of 18.8 GW of new capacity. Supportive government policies which include an attractive concessional program and the availability of low cost financing from government banks are critical reasons for the success of the Chinese wind power market. It is expected that China will continue to promote wind power in order to reduce its carbon footprint and increase rural electrification.

The US is the second largest wind power market with a cumulative share of 20.3% of the global wind power market. Its share decreased by 1.4% in 2010 which lost the US its market supremacy. Germany is the third largest wind power market in the world with a share of 13.7%. Germany maintained its ranking in 2010 but lost 2.2% to competing nations. Spain, which is the fourth largest wind power market with a cumulative share of 10.4%, lost 1.4% in 2010 as it continued to face economic problems. The other major wind power markets include India with a share of 6.6%, Italy and France with a share of 2.9% each, the UK with 2.6%, Portugal with 2.1% and Canada with 2%.


Offshore Wind Power Market Share Will Continue to Grow in the Forecast Period

The offshore wind market is expected to become one of the major market segments of wind power generation during the forecast period. Offshore wind power installations accounted for 1.6% of the global wind power market in 2010. It is being increasingly explored across the world for its high yield due to stronger and more consistent winds compared to onshore with scope to construct massive GW-scale projects. The UK, Germany, the Netherlands, the US and China are the biggest offshore wind power markets in the world with a number of projects currently in planning and under construction. With an increasing number of countries exploiting offshore wind potential during the forecast period 2010-2020 it is expected that its share in the global wind power market will reach 9% by 2020.


Vestas Wind was the Largest Wind Turbine Manufacturer in 2010

The global wind turbine market is a consolidated market with the top 10 players accounting for 80.4% of the market. Denmark based wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Vestas Wind) dominated the global market in 2010 with a 12.5% share and a total of 4,719 MW of new turbines installed. The company however lost a share of 0.9% in 2010. Vestas is the industry leader and one of the strongest vertically integrated wind turbine manufacturers.

Chinese giant Sinovel Wind Group Co., Ltd. (Sinovel) was the second largest wind turbine manufacturer in 2010 with a share of 11.6%. The company installed 4,386 MW of wind turbines and gained a 2.3% market share. Sinovel is followed by another Chinese turbine manufacturer, Xinjiang GoldWind Science & Technology Co. Ltd. (GoldWind Science & Technology) which accounted for 9.9% of the market in 2010. The company installed over 3.7 GW of turbines in 2010 and gained a share of 2.7%. GE Energy, which was the second largest turbine manufacturer in 2009, slipped down to fourth position after losing 2.8% of its market share in 2010. The company accounted for 9.4% of the market in 2010 compared to 12.2% in 2009. Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica, S.A. (Gamesa) accounted for 7.5%, Dongfang Electric Corporation Limited accounted for 6.9%, Enercon GmbH accounted for 6.8%, Guodian United Power Technology accounted for 6.5%, Suzlon Energy accounted for 4.8% and Siemens accounted for 4.6% of the global annual capacity in 2010.
 
The major business strategies adopted by the global manufacturers for long term sustainability in the market are investments in research and development (R&D) to expand existing product portfolios to meet changing market needs, capacity expansions and setting up manufacturing units across regions to cater to local demand. Consolidation is on the cards as the US market is undergoing correction and the Chinese wind market is expected to stabilize during the forecast period. Companies have modest expectations of growth for 2011 as major markets have slowed down but are expected to pick up in the second half of year.

The research provides an understanding of the technology, key drivers and challenges in the global wind power market. It also provides historical and forecast data to 2020 for installed capacity and power generation. The report details the cost analysis and investment analysis in the global wind power market. The report analyses wind power initiatives with policy framework in key countries such as China, the US, Germany, Spain, Italy, India, France and the UK. The research provides market share for major wind turbine manufacturers and investment trend analysis for global and other major markets.