Global wind turbine orders recorded a 12% year-over-year increase in the first half (1H) of 2023 with 69.5 GW of order activity, according to the global research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie.

The analysis by the group revealed the increased offshore order activity and the orders from outside of China driving the increase, up 47% year-over-year (YoY) increase to over 25 GW.

Wind turbine orders in North America alone reached 7.7 GW, a 305% YoY jump from 1.9 GW. Of these, two offshore wind turbine orders in the region accounted for 49% of the total capacity.

Luke Lewandowski, Vice President of Global Renewables Research at Wood Mackenzie, said, “Supply chain challenges remain, but conditions have improved enough to spark procurement decisions. Momentum from the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. has helped to motivate order activity, although increasing clarity and market certainty will drive an even larger volume.”

China continues to dominate the market, with 44 GW of order activity recorded during the first half of 2023. The total orders in Q2 accounted for $25.3 billion and $40.5 billion in 1H 2023.

Lewandowski added, “China’s intake continues to be incredibly impressive as well, even with activity remaining flat through the first half of the year. Demand in the global offshore market, particularly in the U.S. and Europe, has been one of the main drivers of this growth.”

Source: Wood Mackenzie

The order capacity for offshore wind turbines was recorded at 12 GW during 1H 2023, a 26% YoY increase. It accounted for 17% of all wind turbine order capacity.

During the second quarter alone, the offshore wind turbine orders witnessed a 48% YoY increase, totaling 9.1 GW.

According to Lewandowski, the offshore wind market momentum has been building for some time now, and many deals were conditional as project developers waited for approvals.

He said, “We saw several really big deals officially reach a final investment decision in Q2, including orders of 2,640 MW and 1,176 MW in North America, which helped drive the record numbers and breathe some life into these markets.”

The analysis considers it significant that these deals were confirmed during a difficult time for the wind original equipment manufacturers and amidst the cancellation of several offtake agreements for large projects.

Envision recorded the highest order intake during 1H 2023 with 9.7 GW, followed by Windey at 8.7 GW and Siemens Gamesa at 8.2 GW.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy gained the top spot in new order capacity across both the onshore and offshore sectors, with 5.9 GW recorded in Q2 alone. The company set an offshore intake quarterly record with its SG 14.X DD turbine.

Goldwind ranked second with 4.9 GW of order activity during Q2, followed by Windey at 4.4 GW.

A recent Horizons report from Wood Mackenzie suggested that the global supply chain would need a secured investment of $27 billion by 2026 to achieve a fivefold increase in the annual offshore wind installations outside of China by 2030.

In India, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently formulated three models for developing offshore wind energy projects, especially along the country’s extreme southern and western shorelines.