Danish Vestas Wind Systems A/S is for the first time in five years no longer the world’s biggest turbine maker but has been usurped by China’s Xinjiang Goldwind and US turbine firm GE which were the top suppliers of turbines globally last year reports The Guardian.
A new study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that China leads an annual record for windfarm installations as the country built more new wind farm capacity in 2020 than the whole world combined in the year before. Also, the US saw an increase in wind farm installations, and the growth across China and the US meant that GE and Goldwind claimed the top two spots in this year’s ranking by concentrating on the largest markets.
The author of the report Isabelle Edwards said to the Guardian that while every region commissioned more wind capacity than the year prior, the unprecedented growth observed in 2020 should be credited to the Chinese wind market. “The strategy for GE and Goldwind of contracting on the largest market may not be as fruitful in 2021 as subsidies lapse in those areas,” Isabelle Edwards says and adds that “Vestas take on less market risk, with turbines commissioned in 34 countries last year.”
The Guardian reports that Vestas after agreeing to buy out Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ 50 percent stake in their joint venture, MHI Vestas, hopes to become a leading player in the global offshore wind market by 2025. According to Bert Nordberg, the chair of Vestas, the deal worth almost € 710 million, was the “beginning of a new chapter in Vestas’ history” that would offer strong opportunities as the rollout of renewable energy accelerates.
