Top 15 wind majors own 36% of world's wind capacity at end 2019 - GWEC

Just over one third of the 650 GW of installed onshore and offshore wind power capacity globally was in the hands of the top 15 wind asset owner-operators at the end of 2019, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

These 15 own 232 GW, or 36% of the total. Seven among them are Chinese state-owned power generators.

The majority of the wind assets held by these seven Chinese players are confined to Asia Pacific -- in their home country they own 60% of all capacity. The remainder of the top 15 asset owners are companies that are active on the global stage, GWEC said.

The rest of the global capacity, or 418 GW, is owned by companies with regional or market-specific focus.

Below is the ranking of the top 15 wind asset owners at the end of 2019 with data from GWEC Market Intelligence:

Similar groupings are visible in the offshore wind sector, where the top 10 companies own over 50% of the total offshore wind power capacity.

Denmark's Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) is the number one offshore wind farm operator, with 3.67 GW of the capacity under ownership. The company is the only actor in the sector with offshore wind assets located in European, Asia Pacific and North American waters.

GWEC adds that asset owners have been broadening their offering and expanding portfolios through mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which have been on the rise. In the offshore wind sector, a number of projects are steered by a team of two or more utilities.

A build-to-sell approach adopted by some European utilities, which sell stakes in their wind assets to re-invest in further projects, is another way to grow the portfolio, the organisation added.

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