China accounted for 65% of global wind capacity in 2023, which pushed four Chinese wind turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEM) into the top five global rankings, a first for the sector, according to new Wood Mackenzie analysis.
With a record of 16.3GW installed, Goldwind maintained the leading position for the second consecutive year, Wood Mackenzie found.
Envision closely followed with 14.1GW, the company’s best year yet, and at third place, Vestas connected 11.5GW, the only western OEM in the global top five, according to the analysis.
At fourth and fifth places, Windey and MingYang installed 10.1GW and 9.9GW respectively.
Overall, the market remained consolidated with 54% of the global wind markets held by the top five OEMs.
Outside of China, Vestas was the market leader for the sixth consecutive year, with more than 10GW installed.
Siemens Gamesa (SGRE) overtook General Electric (GE) for the second position.
SGRE capitalised on offshore success with 9.7GW installed, while GE installed 7.2GW globally, supported by the US onshore market.
Nordex came in at fourth place with 6.4GW and Enercon at fifth place with 2.4GW.
Overall, the top five western OEMs represented 93% of the global volumes outside of China.
Endri Lico, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said: “China’s first batch of massive renewable bases have a 2024 deadline on the horizon which has accelerated installations to an unprecedent pace of 74.7GW.
“This combined with a mature supply chain and ambitious provincial targets are pushing wind deployment to an unprecedented level in China.”
Onshore capacity achieved new highs of 67.8GW, while almost 7GW of new offshore installations were in China, an increase of 41% YoY, which ultimately drove six Chinese OEMs into the global top 10 rankings.
However, the country’s record installations, backed by more than 100GW of new wind turbine orders in 2023, has not shielded local OEMs from reducing profitability, the analysis found.
Intense competition from 14 different Chinese OEMs in 2023 reduced turbine prices by 16% and 9% in onshore and offshore, respectively, throughout the year, according to Wood Mackenzie.
In comparison, 2023 was a disappointing year for western OEMs.
Companies across Europe and the Americas suffered financial losses in a stalling wind market that plateaued at 40GW capacity installed, a 3% drop YoY, which is the lowest year since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lico added: “Western OEMs practiced commercial discipline, showing little appetite for price reduction to grow market share.
“2023 saw some improvement in financial performance as some of the supply chain disruptions eased, but quality and reliability issues have emerged as another source of instability for western OEMs.”