Global wind turbine installations reached a new record in 2024, with global developers bringing online 121.6 GW of new capacity, double the volume installed in 2019. According to BNEF’s 2024 Global Wind Turbine Market Shares report, 90% of these additions were onshore, some 109.9 GW, while offshore installations accounted for 11.7 GW.

For the first time since BNEF began tracking turbine market share in 2013, Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) occupied the top four positions globally. Goldwind retained its status as the world’s leading turbine supplier, commissioning 19.3 GW in 2024. Envision followed with 14.5 GW, Windey with 12.5 GW, and Mingyang with 12.2 GW. Danish manufacturer Vestas was the only non-Chinese company in the top five, surpassing the 10 GW mark.

This Asian dominance stems largely from China’s vast domestic market, which accounted for 70% of global installations, reports BNEF. Although Chinese OEMs are beginning to push into international markets, it expects their reliance on domestic demand will remain significant. The global offshore wind sector as a whole saw moderate growth in 2024, with capacity increasing 6% to 11.7 GW. Mainland China dominated, adding 6.1 GW despite project delays. Siemens Gamesa reclaimed its position as the top offshore turbine supplier, outpacing Vestas and its Chinese counterparts for the first time since 2020, finds the report. The Europe-based manufacturer provided machines for nearly three-quarters of offshore wind farms outside mainland China last year, with 4 GW of additions – more than doubling its capacity compared to 2023.

While Chinese manufacturers thrived in 2024, Western OEMs faced mounting pressures. Connections outside China dropped below 40 GW, the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic. The US market, in particular, saw a fourth consecutive year of decline, installing just 5.4 GW in 2024 – the lowest in a decade, BNEF finds. Slow execution, extended turbine delivery lead times, shortages of transformers and electrical equipment, and high interest rates are cited as hampering US project developers.

Political headwinds under the second presidency of Donald Trump are further complicating the landscape for US wind projects, notes Oliver Metcalfe, Head of Wind Research at BNEF. ‘Offshore wind projects are more vulnerable to changes in US government policy under President Donald Trump than projects on land… The onshore wind industry has more bipartisan support and is an economically attractive option in many places where power demand is increasing,’ he says.

Wood Mackenzie confirms China’s market supremacy

Wood Mackenzie’s latest analysis echoes BNEF’s findings, ranking Goldwind, Envision and Mingyang as the top three wind turbine suppliers for the first time in its global listing. Goldwind led for a third straight year, with installations surging 20% to 20 GW.  

Also reporting that Western OEM installations outside China had dipped below 40 GW in 2024, Wood Mackenzie adds that Western firms have responded by streamlining operations, outsourcing production to Asia and divesting non-core activities in a bid to remain competitive.

China’s clean energy divide

While China dominates the global wind sector, a closer examination of provincial-level data reveals a stark north-south divide in the country’s clean energy transition, according to CREA’s latest analysis.  

The national share of non-fossil fuel generation rose from 28% in 2015 to 38% in 2024. The share of clean power in the north jumped from 20% in 2020 to 31% in 2024, led by provinces such as Liaoning (+22%), Heilongjiang (+21%) and Jilin (+21%). Meanwhile, the south stagnated, with only a two-percentage-point increase over the same period. Some provinces, including Chongqing (–9%) and Guizhou (–5%), even increased their reliance on fossil fuels, according to CREA.

The think tank attributes the rapid transition in the north largely to market-based incentives that encourage coal plants to adjust output to support renewable generation. Additionally, enhanced inter-provincial coordination has improved grid balancing, allowing for greater clean energy integration.

The north-east provinces made the fastest progress by implementing flexible coal generation policies and boosting regional cooperation, notes the analysis. These efforts have significantly reduced fossil fuel generation in provinces such as Shandong, Beijing and Tibet.

In contrast, southern provinces have been slow to expand wind and solar due to their historical reliance on hydropower. However, with demand outpacing hydro capacity growth, fossil fuel generation has surged by 28% in the south since 2020, compared to just 12% in the north.

Guangdong and Zhejiang, two economic powerhouses, exemplify the challenge, according to CREA. Both have suitable conditions for solar and offshore wind but have prioritised coal expansion instead.

Southern provinces have not sufficiently coordinated grid operations to integrate more renewables, the analysis finds. Unlike in the north, where wind and solar variability is balanced across provinces, southern grids remain largely self-contained, limiting flexibility.

CREA believes China’s clean energy transition now hinges on further grid modernisation and inter-provincial cooperation.  

However, grid capacity constraints are becoming a pressing issue. Solutions include hybrid solar-storage plants, improved flexibility in coal and gas power operations, and greater investment in transmission infrastructure.

Provinces that adapt their grids to accommodate higher shares of renewables will attract more investment and gain a competitive edge, concludes the report.

UK and China sign clean energy partnership

Finally, in related news, earlier this month UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband visited Beijing to urge continued action from China – the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter – to tackle the climate emergency. In the first visit by a UK Energy Minister since 2017, he met with China’s National Energy Administration and signed a China-UK Clean Energy Partnership that aims to enhance bilateral energy exchanges. Refreshing a previous 10-year-old partnership, the new dialogue outlines key areas of cooperation including new emerging technologies, such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. The UK is also to share its expertise on phasing out coal, having closed its last coal-fired power station last year.