Wednesday’s here with a new rundown of the world’s top turbine producers, how renewables are set to take off in a big way, and an ongoing hiring spree at a major Colorado manufacturer.
MAKE Consulting is out with their list of the top 15 turbine suppliers of 2013. Vestas took first place, though some familiar names aren’t far behind:
The top 15 turbine suppliers of 2013, with their respective market shares, are as follows:
1. Vestas – 13.2% (also held the No. 1 spot in MAKE’s top 10 list of 2012)
2. Goldwind – 10.3% (up from No. 7 in 2012)
3. Enercon – 10.1% (up from No. 5)
4. Siemens – 8.0% (down from No. 3)
5. Suzlon Group – 6.3% (up from No. 6)
6. GE – 4.9% (down from No. 2)
7. Gamesa – 4.6% (down from No. 4)
8. United Power – 3.9% (same position as in 2012)
9. Mingyang – 3.7% (up from No. 10)
10. Nordex – 3.4% (did not rank in MAKE’s 2012 top 10 list)
11. XEMC – 3.2%
12. Envision – 3.1%
13. DEC – 2.3%
14. Sinovel – 2.3% (down from No. 9 in 2012)
15. Sewind – 2.2%
- According to the report, the majority of the top 15 OEMs saw market increases, especially Chinese OEMs such as Goldwind and Envision. Although Chinese OEMs experienced a very positive 2013, MAKE says it should be noted that their success was highly dependent on the status of their home market.
- MAKE says the biggest winners from the West were Enercon and Nordex, which secured some of the highest market share gains, boosted by a record year for added capacity in Germany. The report adds that Siemens had a massive lead in the offshore wind sector – reflecting the successful sale of its G4 platform – but struggled in the onshore wind sector, with a 58% decrease YOY in new onshore installations.
Clean energy sources like wind power are set to become even more important players in the U.S. energy mix, and could be on the verge of something big:
- The truth is, renewable sources, particularly solar and wind, are on the verge of a boom that could rival the rise of shale oil and gas. And just as fracking has made millionaires out of farmers, driven down the price of natural gas and dramatically transformed the geopolitical landscape, the coming renewable rush will also reshape our energy economy.
- …Then there’s wind power, where the efficiencies have advanced even more quickly than in solar. By 2018 wind installations will cost less to build and operate than new coal, nuclear and some forms of gas-fired facilities, according to the EIA.
- Wind-system costs have dropped 43 percent since 2009. If natural gas prices go up any faster, wind power may even run at a discount to all major generation sources by 2018.
Vestas continues to pick up new employees in its Colorado facilities, where high demand for new wind projects is powering jobs across the state:
- Vestas Wind Systems, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer, is on a hiring spree and expects to have more than 2,000 employees in Colorado by the end of 2014.
- “We are going to be extremely busy making blades, nacelles and towers this year through at least 2015,” said Chris Brown, president of the Vestas’ sales and service division in the U.S. and Canada, in a statement.
- Vestas starts newly hired workers on a temporary basis, with the opportunity to be hired as regular employees. The company said that since late 2013, it has already converted more than 60 people from temporary to regular employees at the Brighton blade factory.
- “Our world-class Colorado factories help us compete in the U.S. market,” Brown said.
Be sure check out this week’s other news roundups:
- Tuesday: News roundup, congressional edition: Wind helps fight climate change
- Monday: News roundup: Illinois towns embrace renewables, Texas wind boosts revenues, and a taller tower for stronger wind
