Small Wind Power

Even though the market for modern small wind turbines (SWTs) has existed for 30 years, there are many signs the SWT industry is maturing, including the expanded role of SWT certification, hundreds of manufacturers located around the world, expanding dealer networks, and a growing number of national and regional industry associations.

There are also a growing number of applications across telecommunications, defense, and other remote locations being enabled by the growing interest and investment in microgrids and hybrid systems that integrate small wind with solar PV and diesel generators, among other renewable distributed energy generation technologies.

The overall market for SWTs is growing as a result of feed-in tariff (FIT) policies in the United Kingdom and Italy. While there are a few bright spots in the United States market, in general, manufacturers in the U.S. are trying to regain their momentum after rebates and other key incentive programs in leading states have stalled, decreased, or expired in the past 3 years. Pike Research forecasts that global installations of SWTs will grow from an estimated 85.8 MW in 2012 to 172 MW in 2018, representing $3.3 billion in revenues.

This Pike Research report examines the global market for small wind power, focusing on manufacturers of small wind turbines. Market drivers and barriers, technology issues, and the competitive landscape are explored in detail, and worldwide forecasts for both revenue and capacity for small wind systems, segmented by region, extend through 2018.

Key Questions Addressed:

• Which countries will lead in small wind development over the next 6 years