In a first for the sector, four China-based wind turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEM) have made it to the global top five rankings, according to a recent analysis by Wood Mackenzie.

China accounted for nearly 65% of the global wind generation capacity in 2023. China-headquartered wind turbine maker Goldwind assumed the leading position for the second consecutive year with a record capacity of 16.3 GW.

In the second position was Envision, with 14.1 GW, followed by the only non-Chinese player, Vestas, with 11.5 GW. Windey and MingYang were ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, with 10.1 GW and 9.9 GW.

According to the report, the top five OEMs accounted for 54% of the global wind markets.

“China’s first batch of massive renewable bases have a 2024 deadline on the horizon, which has accelerated installations to an unprecedented pace of 74.7 GW. This combined with a mature supply chain and ambitious provincial targets, is pushing wind deployment to an unprecedented level in China,” said Endri Lico, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

In its global wind turbine analysis for the first quarter of 2024, Wood Mackenzie found that the global wind turbine order intake hit a new high after procuring 155 GW for the year, an increase of 16 GW from 2022.

The report said Chinese developers ordered almost 100 GW of turbines in 2023, which is said to have significantly benefited their domestic OEMs. The onshore wind capacity hit a record 67.8 GW, with nearly 7 GW of newly installed capacity coming from China, registering a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 41%. The report mentioned that this ultimately drove six Chinese OEMs into the global top 10 rankings.

Further, competitive pricing amongst 14 different Chinese OEMs last year led to turbine prices dropping by 16% and 9% onshore and offshore, respectively.

Western Wind OEM Market

Vestas, the only Western OEM that made it to the global top five, emerged as the market leader for the sixth consecutive year, with more than 10 GW installed outside of China.

In the same year, Siemens Gamesa (SGRE), an offshore and onshore wind turbine provider with a 9.7 GW installed capacity portfolio, overtook General Electric (GE) for the second position.

Nordex came fourth with 6.4 GW, and Enercon came fifth with 2.4 GW. Overall, the top five Western OEMs represented 93% of the global volumes outside of China.

Although Western markets contributed to the highest order intake by adding a record-high capacity of 55 GW, 2023 was also the year where the OEMs in the advanced economies, especially European and American companies, suffered financial losses, with the wind market plateauing at 40 GW. This was a 3% YoY drop, the lowest since the market slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Western OEMs practiced commercial discipline, showing little appetite for price reduction to grow market share. 2023 saw some improvement in financial performance as some of the supply chain disruptions eased, but quality and reliability issues have emerged as another source of instability for western OEMs,” commented Lico.

The global insights firm also predicted 2024 to be a strong year for the off and onshore wind sector, with several countries strengthening their policy frameworks and acting as key determinants in pricing dynamics.

Earlier this month, the global cumulative wind power capacity surpassed the 1 TW mark in 2023, a 13% YoY growth where China and the U.S. remained the top global markets for onshore wind additions.

As per an earlier Wood Mackenzie report, China is on track to install 230 GW of wind and solar capacity in 2023.