Eighth WindEnergy trend:index Published: Global Wind Industry Continues To Look To Future With Optimism

These are the overall results of the new WindEnergy trend:index (WEtix) which has been prepared at six-month intervals since 2018. It is published jointly by WindEnergy Hamburg, the global onshore and offshore wind energy event, and wind:research, the leading market research institute for wind energy. Since the survey was conducted for the first time, more than 8,500 respondents have taken part, contributing their assessments of the development of the global onshore and offshore wind industry.

All regions achieve new top ratings for the expected future market situation

The current market situation for the onshore wind industry in Europe, North America, Asia and the rest of the world continues to receive positive marks. Nevertheless, the mood is slightly more subdued than last spring: all regions show a gentle decline compared to the previous survey. As for the assessment of the current market situation in the offshore wind industry, the picture is similar: around the world ratings continue to be positive. However, contrary to the Rest of World, the results in the individual regions are slightly worse than in the seventh WEtix.

On the other hand, expectations for the wind industry two years from now are unequivocally positive. The question regarding the market situation in the onshore wind industry received top marks across all world regions. Similarly, the future of the offshore wind market is seen in a very optimistic light: Asia, Europe and North America continue to be neck-and-neck, remaining close to the absolute maximum rating. The Rest of the World has improved, as well, rising closer to the three top positions.

This general trend – stagnating or slightly declining ratings for the current market situation, but high expectations for the future of the wind industry – applies to Germany, as well. While the current mood in the German wind industry is somewhat subdued, with the results for both the onshore and offshore segments barely on the negative or positive side, German assessments of the long-term market situation match those in the world regions, trending clearly in a positive direction.

Majority expect neutral or positive impact of coronavirus pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis doesn't seem to have a major impact on the mood in the wind energy industry: only 20per cent of respondents anticipate negative consequences. The rest either expect no consequences, or they actually believe there will be a positive or very positive impact.

As before, green hydrogen is considered as very important: overall more than 55per cent see a high to very high likeliness that the production of green hydrogen will play a key role for wind energy over the next three years.

Assessments on the intensity of consolidation processes in industry have largely remained unchanged compared to the last survey, maintaining the same high level for both onshore and offshore wind energy observed in recent years. Similarly, expectations regarding the optimisation potential driven by digitalisation remain nearly unchanged at a high level. Within this category, expectations for the offshore segment are more pronounced, similar to the survey results seen in 2018. The mood about the saving potential inherent in new technologies is likewise more or less unchanged, remaining in the medium-to-high range; ever since the WEtix was first introduced the saving potential in offshore wind energy has been receiving significantly better ratings than for onshore.