Global Wind O&M Market Set To Grow To $17 Billion By 2020, According To GlobalData

The global wind operations and maintenance market is set to reach $17 billion by 2020 as technology improves, according to new analysis from GlobalData.

The global research and consulting firm published its latest Viewpoint this week, investigating the global wind turbine operations and maintenance (O&M) market. Specifically, the wind turbine O&M market was valued at $10 billion in 2015, and is expected to continue growing to reach $17 billion in value by 2020, a growth rate of 11.2%.

According to GlobalData, “technological developments have paved the way for more effective and reliable equipment and machinery,” which has resulted in the wind industry becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing energy sources. A report published by the International Energy Agency this week showed that wind energy production grew 11% between 2013 and 2014, second only to solar in terms of its overall growth.

With the global wind industry growing, and maturing with new technological developments and innovation, the operations and maintenance of wind turbines becomes ever more integral to the long-term success of the industry.

“The O&M of a wind farm is essential as it contributes to value creation, increases turbine availability – lowering downtime – and increases returns,” explained Ankit Mathur, GlobalData’s Practice Head for Power. “Regular O&M reduces the downtime of a turbine and optimizes electricity generation, which results in an increase in revenue.”

“Advanced connected technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) will enable a much more effective and efficient evaluation of wind turbines along with its associated components,” Mathur continued. “The IoT platform, through its collective and predictive analytics, can alert a service provider to any machinery problems in advance and to stay away from any crucial issues.”