Leading VEU manufacturers in 2023

According to a new report by BloombergNEF (BNEF), the wind energy capacity added in 2023 reached record levels of 118 GW (approximately 107 GW from onshore WEUs and 11 GW from offshore). In 2023, the world introduced 36% more wind turbines than in 2022. The main reason for such growth is a sharp increase in the Chinese market.

According to BNEF data, leading positions are held by Chinese turbine manufacturers. Six of the ten largest producers are Chinese companies. Their dominance is so great that they occupy first, second, fourth, and fifth places in the ranking. Their role is so significant worldwide due to a large domestic market. According to BNEF data, 98% of all turbines produced in China go to the internal market. At the same time, Chinese turbine manufacturers are also expanding exports. In 2023, Chinese companies supplied wind installations with a total capacity of 1.7 GW to 20 foreign markets, including five EU countries. This partly happened due to a sharp drop in prices for Chinese turbines. According to BNEF data, the prices for wind turbines produced in China and sold outside China are 20% lower than those of American and European companies.

The Chinese company Goldwind maintained its position as the leading global supplier of wind turbines. Last year, the company put into operation 16.4 GW projects (95% of which were on the domestic market). The growth in the construction of wind installations in China allowed the company Envision to take second place, with 15.4 GW new turbines introduced in 2023. The Danish company Vestas took third place (one of the leaders from previous years) and is the only European/American manufacturer that entered the top five, with a volume of 13.4 GW. The companies Windey and Mingyang completed the top five.

The American turbine manufacturer GE, which occupied third place in 2022, dropped to sixth place in 2023 as the volume of its installations on the domestic market fell by 35%. The company still retains the position of leading turbine producer in the US; however, the construction level of wind energy projects in the US has fallen to the lowest level since 2017.

In the field of offshore wind energy, there was also an increase in the dominance of Chinese manufacturers. The Mingyang company doubled its annual turbine production to 3 GW in 2023 and became the largest global supplier of offshore turbines for the first time. Leaders from previous years Siemens Gamesa (leading offshore turbines from 2017 to 2021) and Vestas (leader in 2022) took second and third place, respectively.

Data on WEU manufacturers for the years 2015-2023 are presented below: