But over the past year or so, headlines of heady growth have been replaced by an almighty hangover — curtailment has kept a mind-blowing 11GW of installed turbines from producing power, costing operators about $1.6bn in lost revenue.

Developers were forced to put countless projects on hold, and installations fell from 18GW in 2011 to 13.2GW in 2012.

Manufacturers, which had expanded rapidly in the boom years, were left with massive overcapacity, resulting in industry-wide consolidation and a series of front runners strengthening their grip on the market.

As