Renewable energy experienced a banner year in 2021, despite pandemic turbulence. Global investment into sustainable power surged to over $1 trillion annually, with solar and wind capturing the lion’s share.
You might have noticed green energy names increasingly in headlines as the world races to curtail emissions. Multinational corporations across technology, automotive and even oil/gas now aim to power global operations completely via renewables before 2040.
Propelling this momentum are the companies actually manufacturing, operating and innovating the hardware and infrastructure enabling decarbonization – namely wind turbines.
Today I’ll give you an insider’s overview of the 12 largest wind energy companies worldwide. We’ll explore their background, technologies, major projects and outlook. You’ll gain perspective into an industry poised to expand five-fold supporting net zero pledges.
#1 – Vestas Wind Systems: Turbine Tech Leader Eyes Carbon Neutrality
As the world‘s largest supplier of wind power solutions over the last 40 years, this Danish giant knows how to generate clean electricity from the wind better than anyone.
Vestas pioneered the production of interted-design turbines in 1979, establishing specialized manufacturing in the 90’s still paying dividends via industry-leading profit margins. The company operates 54 factories across five contents today leveraging economies of scale.
- Over 140 GW capacity installed in 80 countries
- 40% global onshore wind market share
- 30,000 employees across manufacturing, sales, service
But despite commanding size, Vestas invests heavily in next-generation technology. For example, the record-setting V236 prototype launched in 2021 is the world’s most powerful turbine at 15 megawatts.
“Investing in sustainable technologies is vital for global decarbonisation…” explained new Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen, who took over in mid-2022.
The new leader‘s focus centres around triple ten goals – 10% revenue growth outpaceingmarket expansion, 10% total shareholder return annually, and carbon neutral solutions by 2030.
#2 – GE Renewables: Wind Innovation Across the Grid
GE entered renewables rather recently in 2015 as an everything-to-everyone utility giant looking to transform legacy generation assets . Merging GE Power, GE Energy Connections and GE Renewables into one unified entity brought extensive financial resources plus intracompany expertise around grids, turbines and project development fundamentals.
Fast emerging as a top wind innovator and manufacturer just six years later, GE Renewables proves traditional energy stalwarts can decisively pivot towards the future.
- 40K employees across onshore/offshore wind and hydro
- Top 5 global wind turbine OEM by market share
- New Haliade-X prototype is the most powerful operational turbine yet at 14 MW
Meanwhile in parallel, the company integrates next-gen cyber protection and brilliant factory analytics across renewables. State-of-the-art wind turbines connect seamlessly with GE grid and digital offerings announcing the advent of plant-wide orchestration.
Interoperability allows customers granularity around optimizing assets remotely while predictive maintenance bolsters efficiency using robotics and AI . It all coalesces into a formidable technological ecosystem where information undergirds sustainable production.
Shifting Winds: Bigger, Better and Floating Offshore
While today‘s fleets generate carbon-free power using 3-4 MW class turbine technology, continuous advances now support 7-10 MW options regularly. And innovations around floating platforms specifically allow accessing strong open sea gusts.
Analysts actually predict capacity factors exceeding 60% soon from these cutting-edge floating sites. That means increased annual energy generation from the same turbine investment using next-gen components.
