Wind power firms predict five-fold growth over the next decade
London, 29 May: The wind power industry is expecting huge growth in the number of turbines erected each year, predicting 107,000MW will be installed during 2017, up from 20,000MW in 2007.

If this growth forecast is realised, global installed capacity will reach 288,000MW by 2012 and 718,000MW by 2017, compared with 94,000MW at the end of 2007, according to a survey of wind firms commissioned by German trade show organiser Husum WindEnergy.

At present, 39% of wind capacity is installed outside Europe, but by 2012 this figure is expected to grow to more than 50%. Growth last year was focused in the US, China, Spain, Germany and India – 78% of all installations were in these five countries. The survey respondents said the US, China and Spain had great growth prospects and other countries, such as Greece and South Korea, will become more important in the next few years.

Thorsten Herdan, managing director of German manufacturers' association VDMA Power Systems, said: “For 2017, we are talking about a total sales volume of well over €100 billion. To realise this optimistic forecast, German manufacturers and equipment sellers, who account for more than one-third of total sales volume in the industry, would have to make another massive increase in the production capacities for turbines and components.”

However, the industry currently faces bottlenecks in the supply of wind turbine components, such as bearings, gearboxes and generators. The companies were asked how they preferred to react to this situation: 35% said they preferred to sign long-term contracts, 33% mentioned a broad range of suppliers and 23% said they would vertically integrate by building up in-house production. Just 8% said they would vertically integrate by acquiring component manufacturers.