Two Chinese turbine giants edge out Vestas as world adds record new wind power

Goldwind kept its place at the top of BloombergNEF’s latest global wind turbine rankings that were dominated by Chinese players thanks to their vast domestic market.

Goldwind with 16.4GW of capacity additions in 2023 was followed by fast-growing compatriot Envision Energy with 15.4GW in the latest annual release of the research group’s closely watched figures on newly-installed capacity.

China accounted for 77.1GW of a record 118GW of wind installed worldwide last year, with the global figure representing a 36% uplift on 2022. Of the 118GW, just under 107GW was on land with the rest offshore.

Cristian Dinca, wind analyst at BloombergNEF and lead author of the report, said: “It's no surprise that Chinese turbine makers dominate the top five in our ranking, as buildout of gigawatt-scale wind projects and an end to pandemic restrictions sent installations soaring last year.

“But these players still rely heavily on their home market, with 98% of all their capacity additions coming in China itself.”

Chinese impact in overseas markets is small but growing, said BNEF, which noted: “In 2023, China-based firms commissioned 1.7GW of wind projects in 20 markets overseas, including five EU member states, almost three times as many markets as in 2018.”

The research group reckons Goldwind had the biggest overseas installations with 748MW, followed closely by Envision with 561MW, with Chinese machines selling overseas for 20% less than Western rivals.

Offshore, China easily kept its place as the world’s number-one market for new installations with 7.6GW, followed by the UK and the Netherlands.

BNEF head of wind research Oliver Metcalfe said the strength of the Chinese boom shouldn’t mask “a worrying trend, as new additions elsewhere were just 8% higher than in 2022.

“There are signs that growth will accelerate, though. A surge in US turbine orders shows the early impact of the new subsidies in the country’s Inflation Reduction Act, while a boom in project approvals in countries like Germany suggests that Europe’s permitting reform is working.”