OEM's Battle for Top Spot Continues

The bad news first: In 2018, newly installed wind power capacity worldwide fell from 52 GW in the previous year to 50.6 GW. This is due to increasing competition from solar energy and the transition to more sophisticated, market-based competitive incentives for the wind market. In Germany, for example, it was observed that solar energy always prevailed against wind power in technologically open tender procedures.

Some wind turbine manufacturers were able to adapt better and faster than others to the changing market conditions. "The top 10 global rankings reflect increasingly competitive market dynamics among OEMs and various country markets," says Jesse Broehl, research analyst at Navigant Research. "Beyond the top overall global rankings, there is intense competition among a handful of OEMs in the top global markets."

Danish manufacturer Vestas could maintain the top position. The Danes installed 10.4 gigawatts worldwide last year - more than any other company. However, there are strong regional differences: American manufacturer GE Renewable Energy e.g. once again took over the leadership from Vestas in the US. The Danish manufacturer had dominated the American market for the first time in 2017. Compared to competitors, however, Vestas was able to take the top position in most international markets in 2018, which ultimately led to their number 1 ranking.

Chinese turbine manufacturers install an impressive number of wind turbines every year. However, the projects come almost exclusively from their domestic market. Very few Chinese OEMs install outside China, and even then capacity is minimal despite years of internationalization efforts.

Nevertheless, Chinese manufacturer Goldwind, with 6.8 gigawatts installed, has now succeeded in taking second place in the Navigant ranking thanks to its dominance of the domestic market. German-Spanish Siemens Gamesa, still number 1 in 2017, slipped to number three with 6.2 GW, as Recharge reports.

The U.S. Americans from GE Renewable Energy ranked fourth, followed by Envision, another Chinese manufacturer.