OPINION: Caution not enough in tough times

Despite a bumper year, GE shows little appetite for growing its manufacturing footprint

Despite a bumper year, GE shows little appetite for growing its manufacturing footprint

GE

By Ben Backwell

 Tuesday, March 05 2013

I recently chaired a discussion with wind turbine CEOs at the EWEA 2013 conference in Vienna entitled “Tough Times”.

The executives were surprisingly upbeat, buoyed by record global wind installations of 44.7GW in 2012, and in some cases, by recently announced contract wins.

It is clear, however, that growth does not guarantee profits in today’s crowded market. The session coincided with the release that morning of yearly financial results from Vestas, the traditional leader in the sector, whose big losses provided more evidence that times really are tough.

The wind industry acts within a matrix of factors that include economic growth and the availability of finance, technological development, fossil-fuel prices, policy frameworks…

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