Global wind turbine orders worth an estimated $13.4bn were placed in the first quarter of this year – the second-highest Q1 on record – which saw nearly 14GW of turbine capacity ordered worldwide, according to research group Wood Mackenzie.

WoodMac said turbine orders for the global onshore wind market made up 85% (12.6GW) of capacity in the first quarter. Nine of the top ten onshore wind turbine models sold during the first quarter of 2020 were introduced within the past two years, underscoring the rapid pace of technology evolution, evolving customer needs and competitive product positioning.

“Positive momentum from order negotiations in 2019 largely eased the potential severity of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on order intake in the first quarter [of this year],” said WoodMac research director Luke Lewandowski. “Onshore demand in Europe, primarily in Scandinavia, the UK and Poland, tempered weak order intake in traditional onshore markets, such as the US, India and Australia.”

Developers in China logged “a feverish” fifth consecutive quarter of more than 5GW [of turbine capacity ordered], according to WoodMac. “Chinese demand has started to wane this year due to the impending expiry of China’s onshore subsidy, coupled with the impact of coronavirus during the first quarter of 2020,” said Lewandowski.

The group said orders for projects in Japan and Taiwan accounted for 33% of the first quarter 2020 global offshore wind turbine order intake and 42% of overall offshore demand in Asia Pacific, excluding China.

WoodMac said the deployment of higher-rated turbines continues to accelerate onshore, with the sector accounting for 45% of the demand for turbine models rated 5MW-6.99MW during the first quarter of 2020.

“A similar trend is occurring in Asia’s offshore sector, with average turbine rating and rotor diameter increasing year-on-year for projects in China where policy and environmental conditions necessitate a slower pace of technology evolution. However, in Taiwan, developers have already jumped to 9MW-9.99MW turbine models,” said Lewardowski.

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Global wind turbine orders see near-record Q1 to soften Covid impact: WoodMac