Wind turbine orders rose significantly in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, driven by a strong recovery in purchases in North America and still-significant volumes in China, according to a study released Thursday.
From January to June, orders for wind turbines totaled 69.5 GW (gigawatts), up 12% compared to the same period last year, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie.
This is a record value for a first half of the year, but is still below sales in the second half of 2022. Overall, this corresponds to a purchasing volume of 40.5 billion dollars (37.3 billion euros) in the first half of the year.
Purchases outside China “are one of the main drivers” of this increase, with “demand exceeding 25 GW, up 47% year-on-year in the first half,” the study said.
The driver of this increase is North America, with a quadrupling of electricity volume (7.7 GW) compared to the first half of 2022. According to the study, this is due, among other things, to the Inflation Reduction Act, a comprehensive energy transition program and social reforms decided by American President Joe Biden in the United States.
However, China remains the leading buyer of wind turbines, with 44 GW of orders stable over a year.
According to Wood Mackenzie, offshore wind is also a large contributor to this trend, increasing “by 26% year-on-year in the first half of the year, reaching a record level of activity of 12 GW and 17% of total order capacity.”
This increase brings the German-Spanish company Siemens Gamesa to third place in terms of ordered power, behind China’s Envision Energy and Windey. The Danish Vestas, the world’s number one in the industry, is only in fifth place.