Wind turbine orders increase 23 percent in first half of 2024

LONDON

Dominated by China, orders for wind turbines increased 23 percent worldwide in the first half of the year, with investment reaching $42 billion, an energy research firm has said. 

Out of a global total of 91.2 gigawatts (GW), Chinese domestic orders alone represented 70 GW while orders from abroad added another 5 GW, said research firm Wood Mackenzie in a press release.

"Chinese OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] continue to break records for order intake," said Luke Lewandowski, vice president for global renewables research at Wood Mackenzie.

"Conversely, Western OEMs are struggling to keep pace, challenged by China's competitive advantages in pricing and availability. Soft demand in Western markets as well as policy uncertainty, inflation, and other cost pressures have also driven down activity in the US and Europe," he said.

Western manufacturers only accounted for 13 percent of global orders in the first half. Excluding China, orders fell 16 percent, or by 2.3 GW, over the period.

"China remains the undisputed leader in the industry," Lewandowski said.

While global onshore order activity increased in the first half, the offshore sector struggled, with order intake decreasing 38 percent as challenging project economics have hindered the market, said the research firm. 

“The offshore market has almost 30 GW of conditional orders globally, 21 GW of which are for projects in Europe and the US, but challenging economics continue to delay conversion into firm orders,” said Lewandowski.