Denmark-based Vestas and U.S.-based General Electric (GE) were tied for the No. 1 ranking among global wind turbine manufacturers last year, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). In March, MAKE Consulting named Vestas No. 1 for 2012 and Navigant Research gave the top spot to GE.
BNEF's report says GE and Vestas both accounted for 11.8% of commissioned capacity last year. In 2012, the U.S. experienced a boost in wind power installations as developers rushed to meet the year-end deadline for the production tax credit, thus helping GE meet Vestas at No. 1. In fact, BNEF says, over 96% of GE's new capacity in 2012 was in the U.S., while the country also accounted for 40% of Vestas' commissioned turbines during the year.
"2012 was a great year for Western manufacturers in terms of adding new capacity, particularly those with large exposure to the U.S. market," says Justin Wu, head of wind analysis at BNEF. "Unfortunately, this boom was largely based on beating the deadline on an expiring subsidy and not on sustainable growth. As such, 2013 will look very different."
