Chinese wind turbines producers have witnessed their market share rise dramatically in the past few years, states research consultancy Frost & Sullivan (F&S).

Two of the top Chinese wind turbine generator producers now rank among the global top three manufacturers by megawatts of capacity sold. The rise has been fuelled by domestic demand for wind power and a requirement for 70% of wind turbine components to be manufactured locally, says F&S renewable-energy research manager Alina Bakhareva.

However, there is a dark side to this story of rapid success. China has witnessed, by far, the highest number of accidents caused by failures and malfunctions of wind generator, including massive power outages and even some fatalities. With its domestic market saturated and clear signs of overcapacity and upcoming consolidation, some of the biggest Chinese producers have announced plans for international expansion, she explains.

While there is no doubt of the Chinese manufacturers’ ability to learn quickly, adapt and alter the technology to bring the costs down, F&S believes that the wind power market presents a tougher challenge for the Chinese to crack.

“Firstly, there are a number of technology- related quality issues that the Chinese manu- facturers will have to sort out before they are able to deliver a technology solution on a par with the established Western manufacturers. The technology gap is expanding, with US industrial group GE, wind energy company Vestas, diversified technology group Siemens and other companies investing in improvements that increase their turbines’ availability and reliability.

“A technical fault leading to reduced availability presents a huge risk to a developer and can wipe out a large chunk of expected profits. A faultless operating record will have a posi- tive impact on project developers, who will be more confident in the quality of the Chinese small wind  turbines. But we need to [take into consideration] that it will take years to build this trust. We are witnessing Chinese wind turbine manufacturers taking the first steps in the right direction, although the government had to step in and set stricter regulations”, adds Bakhareva.

Related Articals