Siemens Gamesa topped the capacity installation charts in 2017 with turbines totalling almost 9GW erected, according to a new report by Navigant Research.
The report said Siemens Gamesa installed 8.7GW last year, 140MW more than Vestas.
In total, 51.9GW of new wind capacity was installed in 2017, a 4% fall on the previous year, Navigant said.
The drop reflected “policy shifts squeezing the industry’s value train”, it added.
Navigant predicted that demand is likely to be flat this year, but will accelerate in 2019 as “technology improves and wind cost performance becomes increasingly attractive to governments, utilities, and other stakeholders, particularly in the regions of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and south-east Asia”.
Navigant Research senior research analyst Jesse Broehl said: “Only 140MW separated Siemens Gamesa from Vestas as the latter’s 421MW of offshore capacity was attributed to MHI Vestas, a separate company representing a merger of Mitsubishi and Vestas.
“More relevant than splitting these minor differences is to acknowledge that these two companies are now peers, global heavyweights in the sector, and capable of installing an impressive amount of wind capacity well above their nearest competitors, and with great geographic diversity.”