‘Wind industry hit new record in 2024’

New figures show the wind industry delivered a record 127GW of new capacity globally in 2024 despite macroeconomic and policy challenges.

The figures from Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) show that 29 turbine suppliers mechanically installed 23,098 units last year.

The figures were published in GWEC’s annual Supply Side Data report.

The wind industry continues to set new annual installation records and will continue to do so in the coming years, according to GWEC forecasts.

However, industry and governments must work together to remove structural barriers, improve market design and develop procurement mechanisms to accelerate and install the second terawatt of wind power, GWEC said. 

Although some of the wind turbine manufacturers achieved a positive EBIT margin for their wind turbine production business in 2024 for the first time since 2021, more than half of the western and several Chinese turbine suppliers continued to see negative year-on-year growth in net profit.  

GWEC chief executive Ben Backwell said: “This new record in installations is a testimony to the key role wind energy is playing in delivering the energy transition and protecting people from ever-higher energy prices caused primarily by fossil fuel volatility.

“Governments need to urgently take action to kick start a much faster transition to renewables and remove barriers to deployment and investment.

“This means cutting red tape and bureaucracy, fast-tracking grid investments and ensuring that markets adequately remunerate green energy instead of subsidising fossil fuels.

“The world is seeing the energy transition take shape, but the pace at which it is delivered is in our control.

“We can rapidly deploy wind energy, and deliver the benefits of a clean, secure and abundant energy system if we scale up investment and reach the right level of installations – 380GW per year – by the end of this decade.

“That acceleration will come by clearing supply chain bottlenecks, correcting poor market design and delivering project certainty. The industry stands ready to deliver, help it accelerate deployment.”

The 29 different turbine manufacturers include 18 from Asia Pacific, eight from Europe, two from America and one from the Middle East.

Last year continued to see Chinese wind turbine manufacturers increase their share of total installations due to strong growth in their home market.

For the first time, the global top four wind turbine suppliers came from China, with Denmark’s Vestas rounding out the top five.

Within Europe, European suppliers continue to dominate in 2024 with a 92% market share, which is 4% higher than 2023.

Vestas, Nordex Group, Siemens Gamesa, Enercon and GE Vernova were the top five turbine suppliers in Europe in 2024.

Chief research officer of GWEC Feng Zhao said: “GWEC’s market intelligence team is delighted to report that 127GW capacity of wind turbines were mechanically installed worldwide, despite a year of diverse challenges.

“This is a clear sign of the resilience and continuing upward trajectory of the global wind industry.”

More information: https://renews.biz/100631/wind-industry-hit-new-record-in-2024/