Wind turbine suppliers supplied a new record amount of volume in 2022, according to GWEC’s annual Supply Side Data.
According to the report, 30 wind turbine manufacturers installed 104.7 GW of new wind power capacity in 2021 despite continuing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing pressure from commodity price increases and logistical problems.
While turbine manufacturers delivered a record-breaking amount of projects in 2021 record-breaking deliveries, companies have shown worsening financial results due to an ultra-competitive price environment, higher external costs and continuing bottlenecks which are preventing a faster expansion in wind energy.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) the world needs to be adding around 390 GW of energy from wind generation by 2030 to keep the world on track to limit warming to 1.5°C. GWEC’s Global Wind Report 2022 found installations need to quadruple by 2030 to keep the world on course to reach that figure.
These numbers can only be achieved with support for a market that delivers clean energy, clean jobs and works in fossil-fuel-free financial markets.
Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, said: “This new record in installations is a testimony to the key role which wind energy is playing in delivering the energy transition and protecting people and economies from high energy prices caused by fossil fuel volatility.
However, as the UN Secretary General pointed out yesterday, governments need to urgently take action to kick start a much faster transition to renewables and remove barriers to deployment and investment, including cutting red tape and bureaucracy, fast-tracking grid investments and ensuring that markets adequately remunerate green energy instead of subsidising fossil fuels.
The fact that wind turbine manufacturers are struggling to make a profit does not put the world in a strong position to scale up investment and reach the right level of installations – 390GW per year – that we will need to reach by the end of this decade.”
29,234 wind turbines were installed worldwide by 30 wind turbine manufacturers in 2021, of which 18 are from Asia Pacific and 9 from Europe.
Vestas enjoyed a record year to remain the number one turbine supplier, making 17.7% of the new installations. Chinese company Goldwind followed in second with 11.8%, holding its position from 2020, while Siemens Gamesa also had a record year with a 9.7% global market share, moving it up two positions to third place in 2021.
Another Chinese company, Envision, is fourth with 8.65% of 2021’s market. GE Renewable Energy rounds out the top five with 8.55% of the market.
