Siemens tops global wind power market, Vestas slips, GE rises

Siemens gained over Vestas to top the global wind turbine market as measured by market share of newly installed machines connected to the grid in 2014, according to an industry report, but the gap between the top three companies is small.

MAKE Consulting, a Danish renewable energy consultancy, said wind turbine units of Siemens and General Electric Co , and Danish turbine maker Vestas had between 10.8 and 10.1 percent each of global market share, showing the intense competition.

Top 10 Wind Turbine OEMs 2014

  1. Siemens (4)
  2. GE (5)
  3. Vestas (1)
  4. Goldwind (2)
  5. Enercon (3)
  6. United Power (8)
  7. Gamesa (7)
  8. Ming Yang (9)
  9. Envision (12)
  10. XEMC (11)

Source: MAKE Consulting
The consultancy said, however, GE’s climb to second position from fifth the previous year was due to turbines that had already been installed in 2013 but were only turned on in 2014.

Siemens meanwhile is expanding rapidly in offshore wind, a new battleground for turbine makers as they produce larger engines to go further offshore to avoid local community complaints against their installation.

Siemens accounted for 76 percent of new capacity installed offshore last year in in the world and 88 percent offshore Europe.

However, none of the top three feature as prominently in China, one of the biggest markets for wind where Chinese makers are dominant. Beijing-based Goldwind, United Power and Ming Yang were the top three turbine makers there respectively, MAKE said.

MAKE’s report comes ahead of the world’s largest offshore industry event hosted by Copenhagen this week and attended by executives of the sector’s major players.

The consultancy – which produces one of the industry’s most eagerly-awaited OEM league tables – said Vestas’ decline was “primarily because of a large volume of turbines delivered to the US market, which were not grid-connected in 2014”.

But MAKE added: “Nonetheless, the Danish turbine OEM maintains a commanding lead in global cumulative grid-connected capacity.”

GE’s leap from fifth in 2013 to runner-up last year reflected continued dominance of the Americas – with connection of previously-erected capacity in Brazil proving a major boon to the US company in 2014.

China’s Goldwind fell from global number two to fifth in the MAKE rankings as Chinese rivals such as Ming Yang and United Power ate into its domestic sales.

MAKE’s 2014 analysis is at odds with earlier preliminary rankings by FTI Consulting, which had Vestas top and Siemens second. Several other market analysts are also expected to deliver their verdict on the sector.

MAKE said its figures are based on “grid-connected capacity, with the exception of China, which is analysed on the basis of mechanically-erected capacity for turbine OEMs operating in that market”.

The Denmark-based analyst said the 2014 rankings saw the gap between the top three in the market shrink “from 3.9 percentage points in 2013 to 0.7 in 2014 – the equivalent of roughly 400MW, indicating heightened competition and increased importance of emerging market engagement”.

Flagging up the rise of industrial behemoths Siemens and GE, MAKE added: “The advancement of multi-industrial conglomerates may signal the advent of a long-expected change in the composition of turbine OEM leadership.

“However, the 2014 rankings were as tight as ever and certainly impacted by secondary market dynamics.”