Market share uncertainty in the renewable energy industry

Although a former Regional Executive at Nordex SE voiced concerns regarding solar PV energy and its impact on the wind turbine industry, stating that the technology is “pressing prices down” for the industry as a whole, the former Head of Sales at Senvion SA took a different stance on the matter. The former Head of Sales explained that the PTC phase-out could have an impact on the overall energy mix, predicting solar PV would “increase its share” as the costs of PV continue to decrease, but ultimately wind “will be keeping the main share” because wind power plants tend to be smaller and more efficient compared with solar PV plants. The specialist continued by stating that PV energy from companies such as SunRun and Vivint Solar are “more complementary” to wind power because although PV generation is only possible in the daylight, wind energy could essentially generate energy day and night. 

The former Head of Sales also explored the PTC phase-out’s impact on wind turbine companies such as Siemens Gamesa. The specialist expressed the opinion that ultimately, the PTC expiration would have a positive impact on the wind industry, with smaller wind turbine manufacturers in particular benefiting from the change. The former Head of Sales said that despite the phase-out, turbines would continue to gain efficiencies and “decrease the cost of energy” production, meaning they could become “competitive on their own with other forms of generation” such as solar. He continued by saying that the PTC expiration could “level the field for the smaller players” as each project under PTC undergoes third-party assessments to ensure the design is commercially proven, and, if it’s not, it must go through costly iterations until it is. With the phase-out of PTC, the onus would instead be on the customers, independent power producers (IPP) or wind farm operators to assess the turbine technology. 

The former Head of Sales in the US at Senvion SA stated that as well as increased competition from smaller players, OEMs such as Senvion, Vestas or Nordex not only have to compete with other US OEMs and independent service providers (ISPs), but they must also recognise that there will be increased competition from turbine manufacturers operating in China as PTC is phased out. The former Head of Sales explained that although China-based OEMs such as Goldwind and Envision Energy have had “limited success so far,” they “definitely have an advantage on price” and could be a further challenge to longstanding OEMs “if they get the quality right”. 

Despite increased competition in the US market, larger OEMs such as Vestas could improve their overall situation globally by strengthening their position in other countries. The former Director of O&M in India at Vestas Wind Technology suggested that the rumoured acquisition of Suzlon by Vestas could allow the latter company to improve its share in the global market. The specialist explained that the move would allow Vestas to obtain more factories within India, which would help the international OEM localise manufacturing in the country. He continued by stating that this could offer Vestas important cost synergies to help it improve its position, which would help enhance the sustainability of the company in the market.