Global wind turbine order intake sets Q1 record, increases 27% YOY

Global wind turbine order intake hit a new Q1 record, with 23.5 gigawatts (GW) of activity, a 27 percent increase year-over-year, according to a new analysis from Wood Mackenzie.

Activity was driven by a new Q1 record set in China (15.2 GW), record Q1 growth in Latin America (1.7 GW) and the U.S. jumping to 1.8 GW of activity, more than doubling its 0.8 GW in Q1 2022 and surpassing its H1 2022 total.

In total, global orders hit an estimated $15.2 billion, up $3B YOY.

“China continues to be the overwhelming driver of global activity,” said Luke Lewandowski, Wood Mackenzie Research Director. “We do not see that slowing down anytime soon. What is encouraging is seeing certain areas outside of China start to build momentum. Latin America had a record Q1, thanks to activity in Argentina and Brazil, and the U.S. is seeing renewed confidence and order growth, partially in thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.”

While some areas outside of China experienced growth, overall activity from western original equipment manufacturers (OEM) remained flat, with Q1 orders down 9 percent year-over-year. Strategies between these two markets remain fundamentally different, with China pushing growth strategies to meet local government renewable requirements and western OEMs focusing on profitability.

“Western OEMs have remained very selective and disciplined in their activity, with the goal of improving their profitability,” said Lewandowski. “Pricing has remained relatively level in markets like the U.S., where strategies such as measured technology development and price indexing have been employed by Western OEMs to expedite a return to profitability. This has also helped turbine pricing stabilize this quarter.”

Offshore wind orders saw a decrease of 12 percent YOY, but growth took place in Europe, which accounted for 3 GW of offshore activity. Overall, offshore wind accounted for 13 percent of all orders in Q1.

For the second straight quarter, Envision captured the largest share of new orders (3.6 GW), followed by Vestas (3.3 GW) and SANY (2.6 GW).