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Those surveyed were asked for their views on a range of subjects, including the performance of their company, the markets that matter most to them and their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Respondents spoke about why the US and Germany were good places to do business, their fears that the entire wind supply chain would eventually go to China and about how the turbine arms race had to come to an end – and soon.

Company performance

There can be little doubt that 2023 was a bruising year for some in the wind industry. Western turbine manufacturers were still struggling to overcome significant debts and turn a profit, while developers faced the damaging effects of inflation on planned wind projects – and some made the difficult decision to cut their losses and incur severe financial penalties. 

Around half of those canvassed agreed that their company’s performance had either been poor or unremarkable during 2023, but there was slightly more optimism when asked to project how they expected to fare by comparison this year.

Some spoke of their “strong belief” in the US and German markets or “new opportunities in offshore wind” to spur growth in the industry this year. Others mentioned “good order intakes” or a “growing political will” to exploit wind resources as the key drivers for their business.

But optimism was mixed with caution.

One respondent said: “The installed base of new platforms has been causing significant losses. This will not be solved in a short period, considering the amount of total capacity and the liquidated damages paid to investors.”

The same respondent called for positive intervention from regulators and added: “Radical actions need to be taken, but it's difficult and takes more time than estimated…Reasonable feed-in-tariffs and PPAs need to be reconsidered by the regulators to empower renewables [to get] back on track.”

And there was evidence that the issues faced by struggling turbine firms last year have had a knock-on effect on the future of the western supply chain.

One respondent said: “We supply materials direct to OEMs who make blades, or to their tier 1s who make blades on behalf of the OEM. OEM profitability challenges have been pushed upstream, destroying innovation and quality as there is a relentless cost focus that is driving nearly all materials to China. It will end the global supply chain for materials – it will essentially just be a Chinese one.”

Tackling the same issue from a different perspective, another respondent explained that while demand for renewable power installation was strong, the “high cost of components…credit lines and land-lease fees” were dampening investment. “This leads to low orders for our organisation” added the respondent, who works in engineering services.

Key markets 

Global regions and individual countries are progressing at their own pace in wind power due to the specific conditions there; such as the permitting regime, grid infrastructure and the policy backdrop.

Asked which country or region had been most important to them in 2023, respondents pointed to Europe – and Germany in particular due to it having the “most projects and highest benefits” – China and the US, although Brazil and India were also cited.

The respondents pointed to similar countries and regions when asked what their key markets would be for the year ahead. One respondent, citing the US, said it was because of the country’s “size, growth potential [and] profitability”, while those who pointed to China said it was because of the “amount of installations” and that it constituted a “large market and manufacturing base”.

Policy

The policy backdrop across global regions is anything but uniform. In the US, President Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) legislation contains a number of incentives for wind power, including an extension of production tax credits and a manufacturing tax credit for advanced technologies, including major wind components. 

Meanwhile, in Europe, the bloc is on the cusp of agreeing a package of wind boosting measures. These include the Net Zero Industry Act, which could boost member states’ permitting capacity and reform auction criteria for new wind farms; electricity market reforms that could expand the use of corporate power purchase agreements across the continent; and the Critical Raw Materials Act, which seeks to secure Europe’s supply of the essential components the wind industry needs for future expansion. The bloc’s RepowerEU target is to meet 55% of all energy demand from renewables by 2030.

Respondents to the survey were asked to name specific countries and regions that had the most favourable policy towards wind power and explain why.

Comparing the EU with the US, one said: “The wind industry is awaiting a policy in Europe to support western OEMs, similar to the IRA in the US, in an effort to avoid a further ‘commoditisation’ of the sector as happened with the solar industry.”

One respondent suggested the proposed package of measures across the EU would “preserve European OEMs and accelerate projects”, while another, who pointed to the IRA, said the policy would “aid with costs and make projects more financially viable from an investment standpoint”.

Opportunities and challenges

Looking at the year ahead, those surveyed were asked to name the biggest opportunities and challenges for the wind industry in 2024.

Many identified permitting delays and antiquated grids and transmission systems among the major challenges they faced. But some pointed to “quality issues and the race for bigger turbines”, as well as the cost of raw materials, while others simply cited “Chinese competition”.

One respondent said the greatest challenge was “lobbying from oil and gas majors, right-wing media…and uneven playing fields”.

Another said: “Delays of new projects due to concerns over component reliability and manufacturing defects. The current status quo is unsustainable, and will cause a slower than planned rollout of wind energy in the short-term.”

But there were signs of optimism among respondents too, when asked to name the biggest opportunities in 2024.

Some said demand for wind technology – and the growth of the European and US markets – presented an opportunity and pointed to wind’s competiveness against fossil-fuel sources, while another said “the opportunity to deliver to the COP28 targets” was their reason for optimism.

One respondent added: “Renewable energies…are becoming the norm and are on the pathway to become a commodity product. None can envisage its energy strategy without the renewables today.”

However, forecasting the year ahead, one of those surveyed said the turbine ‘arms race’ had to stop, for the benefit of all.

They said: “A battle for volume and post-pandemic inflation have put all western wind turbine manufacturers in a bad spot. Wind farm developers/power markets must now adjust to higher prices, but to become profitable turbine manufacturers will also need to reduce the crazy race to introduce still larger turbines. A race that – unless stopped – will block the expansion of wind energy.”

Skills gap

Numerous studies have shown that the wind industry faces a significant shortfall in the number of people with the requisite skills to facilitate the energy transition.

This was having a significant impact among those who agreed that there were not enough qualified people in their company to deliver its main functions. 

One respondent cited “burnout of existing personnel” as an effect of the shortfall while another said: “We are missing business opportunities because we don't know or can't react quick enough.”

Another said the skills gap meant there was a “difficulty recruiting or replacing skilled staff [which] is restricting and slowing our capacity to innovate and grow.”

However, asked if they intended to continue working in the wind industry themselves this year, one joked that they were “too old to make another big move”.

About the respondents

We received the views of more than 160 wind industry professionals for the survey. People who work for turbine companies or wind project developers made up the majority of respondents, but others in the wind supply chain, as well as investors and analysts, also gave their opinions.

Almost half the respondents were from across Europe, the remainder came from the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, and the vast majority identified themselves as holding senior positions within their company.

Respondents worked mainly in the offshore and onshore wind sectors, but people working in floating wind, green hydrogen, or grids and transmission were also represented.