Vestas Had Top Wind Turbine Market Share in 2012, Make Says

Source: By Alex Morales, Bloomberg • Posted: Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) was the biggest wind turbine manufacturer in 2012, Danish researcher Make Consulting, contradicting a preliminary report last month from another analyst that gave General Electric Co. (GE) the lead.

Vestas took 14.6 percent of the market last year, edging out GE with 13.7 percent and Siemens AG (SIE) with 10.8 percent, Aarhus, Denmark-based Make said in an e-mailed statement. On Feb. 11, Navigant Consulting Inc. (NCI)’s BTM Consult unit, citing preliminary data, said Vestas lost its lead after 12 years. BTM’s final data is due by the end of the month.

“Competition for the number-one spot went down to the wire, but Vestas maintained its position,” Make said today. Chinese manufacturers slipped down the table, in part due to a 26 percent decline in Chinese installations, it said.

The report may provide some relief to Vestas, which has lost money the past two years, and still prided itself on being the market leader. Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE was boosted last year by a surge in projects in the U.S. market, where developers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit that lawmakers ultimately renewed on Jan. 1.

Make put Spain’s Gamesa Corp. (GAM) Tecnologica SA in fourth place at 8.2 percent, and Germany’s Enercon GmbH in fifth with 7.8 percent.

India’s Suzlon Energy Ltd. (SUEL) was sixth at 6.5 percent, while the top 10 was rounded out by four Chinese companies: Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Guodian United Power Technology Co., Sinovel Wind Group (601558) Co. and Guangdong Mingyang Wind Power Industry Group Co.