Vestas Leads Record-Breaking First-Quarter Wind Turbine Order Intake
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Global wind turbine order intake increased by 7% in the first quarter of 2019 to 13.69 gigawatts (GW), eclipsing the previous record set a year earlier by 875 megawatts (MW), according to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.
The record quarter of wind turbine orders was the highlight from Wood Mackenzie’s Global Wind Turbine Order Analysis: Q2 2019 report, published on Tuesday, which also revealed that strong order intake in China and the Americas was behind the strong quarter, offsetting a nearly 20% decrease seen in Europe, the Asia Pacific region, and the Middle East and Africa region. In total, firm wind turbine order capacity in Q1/2019 totaled 13.69 GW, according to a Wood Mackenzie spokesperson.
Specifically, wind developers in China, Latin America, and North America collectively ordered 3.1 gigawatts (GW) more capacity in the first quarter as compared to the first-quarter of 2018. This more than made up for the combined 2 GW less ordered in Europe, APAC, and the Middle East and Africa — regions which saw procurement decisions heavily impacted by regulatory transitions.
“China’s offshore market yielded a 66% increase YoY in global offshore order capacity, with a record Q1 demand – 1.7 GW of firm orders – seen in 2019,” said Luke Lewandowski, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables Director. “Five Chinese [original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)] each won 300 MW+ of offshore orders in China as pressure mounts to comply with provincial grid-connection targets in China for offshore. This resulted in Chinese OEMs accounting for 77% of all offshore capacity ordered globally.
“Offshore order intake in Europe decreased 55% YoY in Q1 2019 and consisted primarily of a single 487 MW order for a project in Belgium. Nonetheless, global offshore order intake exceeded 2 GW for just the third time, with more than 10 GW ordered from Q1 2018 through Q1 2019.”
According to the Wood Mackenzie press release — which unsurprisingly failed to provide many of the specific figures we would like to have seen, but which are hidden behind subscription to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables’ Wind Supply Chain Service and its Offshore Wind Service — order intake in the 4.0-4.99 MW segment increased for the fourth consecutive quarter, with in excess of 500 MW ordered in the US, China, and Brazil. Specifically, Vestas’ V150-4.X and Siemens’ SG 4.5-145 turbine models recorded the most order capacity respectively across the first quarter.
“Vestas won the largest share of orders for the fourth straight quarter, continuing its success in multiple rating segments,” explained Wood Mackenzie’s Lewandowski. “Vestas was the only turbine OEM to have two models in the top 10 ranking for onshore turbine models, other than CRRC in China. Additionally, Vestas was the only Western OEM in the top 5 in Q1 in APAC, recording the most geographically diverse intake with orders for projects in 6 countries.”
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