Global Wind Market Sees Record Year in 2020 as Major Players Jostle for Position

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Undeterred by the pandemic, the wind market grew by leaps and bounds in 2020; global commissioning of wind turbines was up 59% to nearly 100 gigawatts of new build last year. The industry was shaken up as leading players jostled for position. GE and Goldwind were the top two turbine suppliers in 2020, following a surge in installations in the US and China. Vestas, which had placed first for the previous four years, fell to third place in the 2020 ranking, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF).

Most of these were on land (94%), as the addition of new turbines at sea fell to 6.1 gigawatts – a 19% drop compared to 2019.

Players and Markets

Just four manufacturers accounted for more than half (51%) of the machines deployed: General Electric (GE), Vestas, Goldwind and Envision all commissioned over 10 gigawatts last year, as the gap widened between the leading manufacturers and smaller players.

GE and Goldwind claimed the top two spots in this year’s ranking by concentrating on the largest markets, but as subsidies lapse in those areas, that strategy may not be as successful in 2021, said Isabelle Edwards, wind associate at BloombergNEF and lead author of the 2020 Global Wind Turbine Market Shares report. Vestas is taking on less market risk, with turbines commissioned in 34 countries last year.

BNEF identified 57.8 GW of new wind capacity commissioned in China last year. In the onshore market, this was more than was commissioned by the entire world in 2019. 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. Nearly every turbine maker is now selling turbines into China, and in 2020 it was the second-largest market for both GE and Vestas.

The US commissioned 16.5 GW of new wind capacity last year, as developers prepared for a phase-out of the production tax credit. This was 77% more than in 2019 and 2.6 GW higher than the country’s previous record in 2012. GE supplied 57% of this new capacity, and stretched its lead over the competition. Vestas’ market share sank to 31% in 2020.

Siemens Gamesa retains its position as the leader in the offshore wind market.

The figures draw on BNEF’s global database of wind projects and extensive information from the industry, the research provider says.