Global wind turbine order intake hit a new Q1 record, with 2350MW of activity, a 27% increase year-over-year (YOY), according to a new analysis from research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie.
Activity was driven by a Q1 high set in China (15.2GW), best-ever Q1 growth in Latin America (1.7GW) and the US jumping to 1.8GW, more than doubling its 0.8GW in the same period in 2022 and surpassing its H1 2022 sum.
In total, global orders hit an estimated $15.2bn, up $3bn YOY.
“China continues to be the overwhelming driver of global activity,” said Wood Mackenzie research director Luke Lewandowski.
“We do not see that slowing down anytime soon. What is encouraging is seeing certain areas outside China start to build momentum. Latin America had a record Q1, thanks to activity in Argentina and Brazil, and the US is seeing renewed confidence and order growth, partially thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.”
While some areas outside of China experienced growth, overall activity from Western original equipment manufacturers (OEM) remained flat, with Q1 orders down 9% YOY. Strategies between these two markets remain fundamentally different, with China pushing growth strategies to meet local government renewable requirements and Western OEMs focusing on profitability.
“Western OEMs have remained very selective and disciplined in their activity, with the goal of improving profitability,” said Lewandowski. “Pricing has remained relatively level in markets like the US, where strategies such as measured technology development and price indexing have been employed by Western OEMs to expedite a return to profitability. This has also helped turbine pricing stabilize this quarter.”
Offshore wind orders saw a decrease of 12% YOY, but growth took place in Europe, which accounted for 3GW of offshore activity. Overall, offshore wind accounted for 13% of all orders in Q1.
For the second straight quarter, Envision captured the largest share of new orders (3.6GW), followed by Vestas (3.3GW) and SANY (2.6GW).