Turbine makers cutting bigger market slices

China's rapid growth propelled global wind turbine installations to a record high for the second straight year in 2024, according to a recently released report.

Domestic turbine manufacturers dominated the global market in 2024, securing six of the top 10 positions and, for the first time, sweeping the top four spots worldwide, said BloombergNEF.

This shift marked a historic moment, as European and US companies fell outside the top three places for the first time since BloombergNEF's rankings began in 2013.

Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind Science and Technology Co Ltd continued to be the world's leading wind turbine supplier, with 19.3 gigawatts of new wind capacity added last year. Envision Group was in second place with 14.5 GW.

"Chinese turbine makers increasingly dominate the global wind energy business," said Cristian Dinca, wind associate at BloombergNEF and lead author of the report.

Installations are soaring in China as provinces race to meet renewable energy targets by the end of 2025, said Dinca.

Industry experts believe this development underscores China's growing dominance in wind energy infrastructure, driven by robust domestic demand and strategic market positioning.

China's renewable energy sector experienced a stellar year in 2024, with total installed capacity of wind and solar power surpassing 1.4 billion kilowatts, further reinforcing the country's role as the global leader in renewable energy development.

Wind power capacity climbed to 520 million kW, up 18 percent year-on-year, said the National Energy Administration.

Technological advancements — including innovations in wind turbine design — have been lowering costs and improving the reliability of renewable energy systems, leading domestic manufacturers to further drive down production costs, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

China's expanding market share and the transition to next-generation offshore wind turbines contributed to a wider deployment of larger turbines, he said.

Dinca said that while Chinese manufacturers look to expand sales overseas, they remain chiefly reliant on their home market, which delivered almost all of their capacity additions in 2024.

Wind installations fell by 10 percent from the 2023 levels outside of China, according to the report, adding that the US market shrank for a fourth year, installing a decade-low 5.4 GW in 2024, driven by slow project executions due to longer turbine delivery times, equipment shortages and higher interest rates.

China further cemented its position as the dominant force in offshore wind power in 2024, accounting for over half of global additions with 6.1 GW, it said.