As Wind Power Sector Grows, Turbine Makers Feel the Squeeze
- 7 years ago
As Wind Power Sector Grows, Turbine Makers Feel the Squeeze
On Thursday, Vestas, the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, said its revenue in the third quarter
fell 6 percent compared with the same period a year ago, to 2.7 billion euros, or $3.1 billion.
The Vestas results came just days after Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy — the recently formed company combining the wind-power units of Siemens, the German conglomerate,
and Gamesa of Spain — reported a €147 million loss for the third quarter.
Such auctions have helped lower by 15 percent the costs per unit of electricity generated by onshore wind projects set to come online over the next five years,
and by a third for offshore wind projects in the same period, according to the International Energy Agency, an organization based in Paris.
Vestas, for example, reported a 48 percent rise in orders for the third quarter,
a key metric for the company, compared with the same period a year ago.
But belt-tightening governments across Europe and North America are phasing out subsidies and tax incentives
that had helped the industry grow, squeezing companies like Vestas and Siemens Gamesa in the process.
The company received around €800,000 per megawatt, a unit of power capacity, for the orders it booked in the third quarter of the year.
On Thursday, Vestas, the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, said its revenue in the third quarter
fell 6 percent compared with the same period a year ago, to 2.7 billion euros, or $3.1 billion.
The Vestas results came just days after Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy — the recently formed company combining the wind-power units of Siemens, the German conglomerate,
and Gamesa of Spain — reported a €147 million loss for the third quarter.
Such auctions have helped lower by 15 percent the costs per unit of electricity generated by onshore wind projects set to come online over the next five years,
and by a third for offshore wind projects in the same period, according to the International Energy Agency, an organization based in Paris.
Vestas, for example, reported a 48 percent rise in orders for the third quarter,
a key metric for the company, compared with the same period a year ago.
But belt-tightening governments across Europe and North America are phasing out subsidies and tax incentives
that had helped the industry grow, squeezing companies like Vestas and Siemens Gamesa in the process.
The company received around €800,000 per megawatt, a unit of power capacity, for the orders it booked in the third quarter of the year.