Independence Towers
For our future.
Made in Germany
Tower Comparisons
In the following some features of the two most common tower versions of wind turbines are compared with those of the Independence Towers for wind turbines:
Economy
The market for wind energy has only really taken off in the last 20 years. Responsible for increasing investments in research, development and the actual expansion of wind energy is primarily the subsidy in the form of guaranteed feed-in tariffs for renewable electrical energy. In Germany, this subsidisation is regulated by the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). This guarantees the operators of WTGs a fixed remuneration, usually for 20 years. On this basis, credit institutions were now also prepared to provide capital on an increasing scale. The wind energy sector in Germany and many other countries that introduced the mechanisms of the EEG began to prosper.
In the following, some key figures on the German and global wind market are briefly explained.
Germany
Since the turn of the millennium, the German wind market has developed at a remarkable pace and is now the most important source of renewable energy. Many manufacturers have also earned a good reputation internationally with innovative solutions and gained significant market shares in many countries.
Since the changeover to an auction procedure with fixed expansion quotas in 2017, the price pressure on WTG manufacturers has risen sharply, which has led and will continue to lead to accelerating market consolidation. Progressive market and product maturity are additionally increasing the price pressure, with the result that some manufacturers have already had to give up (Senvion, 2019) or have merged in the hope of synergy effects (Nordex and the wind division of Acciona, 2015; Siemens Wind Power and Gamesa, 2017).
Today, the German wind market is dominated by a few internationally active companies.
Market shares of WTG manufacturers by number of turbines operated in 2018
Enercon
(DEU)
Vestas
(DK)
Nordex
(DEU)
GE Energy
(USA)
Senvion
(DEU)
Siemens
Gamesa
(ESP/DEU)
Fuhrländer
(DEU)
Other
Source: Fraunhofer IEE-Windenergie Report Deutschland 2018
In 2019, 29,213 onshore wind turbines and 1,305 offshore wind turbines were in operation in Germany. The undisputed market leader is the Aurich-based company Enercon GmbH, which specialises exclusively in onshore wind turbines.
Share of gross electricity generation from wind power in the total generation from 1998 - 2019
Source: bdew.de
Like photovoltaics, wind energy is dependent on the weather. The last few years have tended to be windy and have thus more than compensated for the slump in new WTG installations since the introduction of the auction procedure.
Global
The number of WTGs is very unevenly distributed worldwide. China now has the largest number of turbines, and the annual relative increase is also the highest. The USA has the second-largest wind market and enormous potential for a decade-long expansion. The German wind market follows in third place but is likely to lose this position soon due to the slowdown in expansion. On the manufacturing side, Western and Chinese companies dominate the supply.
Cumulative global installed wind power capacity in MW
Source: WWEA; ID 158323
Gross investments in wind energy amounted to around €110 billion in 2017 with an average growth rate of almost 10% p.a. Around 17,000 wind turbines were installed worldwide in 2017.
Sales of the world's leading WTG manufacturers in € billion in 2018
Vestas
(DK)
Siemens
Gamesa
(ESP/DEU)
GE Energy
(USA)
Enercon
(DEU)
Goldwind
(CHN)
Nordex
(DEU)
Senvion
(DEU)
Suzlon
(IND)
Ming
Yang
(CHN)
Source: bundesanzeiger.de; Geschäftsberichte
There are still a large number of smaller manufacturers that are often regionally active or offer niche products such as vertical rotating wind turbines.