GE dethrones Vestas in 2020 as global wind turbine installations surge - BNEF

GE Renewable Energy and Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd (HKG:2208) took the first two spots in the 2020 wind turbine supplier ranking, pushing Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH) to the third place after a four-year reign, according to the latest research by BloombergNEF(BNEF).

In the offshore wind market, Denmark’s Vestas dropped to seventh place, below Chinese manufacturers Shanghai Electric, Mingyang, Envision, Goldwind and CSSC and the number one offshore wind turbine supplier Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA (BME:SGRE).

Siemens Gamesa led 2020 offshore installations with 1.91 GW of turbines commissioned at sea, and is likely to remain at the top by 2025 thanks to its thick order book, BNEF estimates.

The turbine unit of General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) installed 13.53 GW in total last year, sticking only to onshore wind. Goldwind is behind with 13.06 GW of turbines in total, of which 12.75 GW were land-based installations.

The third-placed Vestas boasted 12.40 GW of total installations, with onshore accounting for 12.16 GW.

“GE and Goldwind claimed the top two spots in this year’s ranking by concentrating on the largest markets. This strategy may not be as fruitful in 2021 as subsidies lapse in those areas. Vestas takes on less market risk, with turbines commissioned in 34 countries last year,” Isabelle Edwards, BNEF wind associate and lead author of the 2020 Global Wind Turbine Market Shares report, said of the reshuffle in the ranking.

GE, Goldwind, Vestas and Envision accounted for 51% of the total turbine capacity deployed in the record-setting 2020.

Despite the coronavirus crisis, the global wind power market commissioned around 96.3 GW of turbines, up 59% year-on-year. As much as 94% of them were on land, while offshore wind installations dropped to 6.1 GW, down by 19% compared to 2019.

BNEF top ten turbine supplier ranking for 2020 is presented in the table below:

Note: BNEF attributes MHI Vestas capacity to Vestas since Vestas' acquisition of the offshore wind turbine unit in December 2020.

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