Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology (SHE:002202) has claimed the top spot in BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) global wind turbine supplier ranking for 2022 after overtaking Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) by a slim margin in a shrinking market.
This is the first time a Chinese manufacturer has held the position, the research firm said today.
In 2022, only 86 GW of wind turbines were commissioned globally, a fall of 15% compared to 2021 as additions stalled in China and the US. Most of the turbines were installed onshore, while offshore installations dropped 46% to 9.1 GW following the expiration of China’s national feed-in premium for offshore projects. China still accounted for more than half of total global wind additions in 2022 with 49 GW of new wind capacity.
According to BNEF wind analyst Cristian Dinca the data should be ringing alarm bells. “Governments around the world are increasing their ambition on decarbonisation and, at the same time, new additions are slowing on the ground,” said Dinca.
Goldwind ranked number one with 12.7 GW of installed turbines, almost 90% of which in China. Vestas came in second with 12.3 GW but was the leading installer offshore. US manufacturer General Electric (NYSE:GE) was third with 9.3 GW.
BNEF’s data (in GW) for the top 10 wind turbine makers in 2022 is in the table below:
| |
onshore |
offshore |
total |
| Goldwind |
12.4 |
0.3 |
12.7 |
| Vestas |
10.4 |
1.9 |
12.3 |
| GE |
8.8 |
0.5 |
9.3 |
| Envision |
7.4 |
0.9 |
8.3 |
| Siemens Gamesa |
5.4 |
1.4 |
6.8 |
| Mingyang |
5.4 |
1.4 |
6.8 |
| Windey |
6.4 |
- |
6.4 |
| Nordex |
4.7 |
- |
4.7 |
| Sany |
4 |
- |
4 |
| CRRC |
3.2 |
- |
3.2 |
The list includes six manufacturers from China. In the offshore wind ranking Vestas was followed by Shanghai Electric and Mingyang.
Oliver Metcalfe, head of wind research at BNEF, commented that the US wind industry has been stunted for two years by uncertainty around extensions to tax incentives but the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last year changed that. “We think the incentives in the IRA will help drive a cumulative 135 GW of new wind capacity from now until 2030, proving the crucial role governments can and must play as they aim for net zero emissions,” added Metcalfe.
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Goldwind 2.5-MW wind turbine.
