Global wind turbine order intake increased 7% year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2019, eclipsing the intake for Q1 2018 by 875MW, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.
According to the ‘Global Wind Turbine Order Analysis: Q2 2019’ report, a strong order intake in China and the Americas more than offset a nearly 20% decrease in firm order capacity YoY in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia and Caspian (EMEARC) regions in Q1 2019.
Developers in China, Latin America and North America collectively ordered 3.1GW more capacity YoY in Q1, which boosted a combined 2GW less capacity ordered in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, where procurement decisions have been impacted by regulatory transitions, said Wood Mackenzie.
China’s offshore market yielded a 66% increase YoY in global offshore order capacity, with a record of 1.7GW of firm orders in Q1.
Five Chinese turbine makers each won 300MW upwards of offshore orders in the country as pressure mounts to comply with provincial grid-connection targets in China for offshore, according to the analyst company.
This resulted in Chinese OEMs accounting for 77% of all offshore capacity ordered globally.
The report found that offshore order intake in Europe decreased 55% YoY in Q1 2019, consisting primarily of a single 487MW order for a project in Belgium.
“Nonetheless, global offshore order intake exceeded 2GW for just the third time, with more than 10GW ordered from Q1 2018 through Q1 2019,” said Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables director Luke Lewandowski.
According to the study, order intake in the 4.0-4.99MW segment increased for the fourth consecutive quarter, with 500MW upwards ordered in the US, China and Brazil.
The Vestas V150-4.X and Siemens SG 4.5-145 models recorded the most order capacity, respectively, in Q1, with Nordex’s N149/4X00 also in the top 10 ranking for onshore turbine models.
Lewandowski said: “Vestas won the largest share of orders for the fourth straight quarter, continuing its success in multiple rating segments.
“The V150-4.X and V120-2.2 turbines both ranked in the top 5 onshore turbine models ordered in Q1, as Vestas won more than 500MW of orders in North America, Latin America and APAC.”