Despite some delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, wind manufacturer Nordex last year was able to repeat a near-record order intake of more than 6GW and saw demand for its larger turbines surge.

The OEM in 2020 received orders for 6.02GW, just a little lower than the 6.2GW registered a year earlier, led by demand in Europe, the US and Latin America.

"Significant major projects and a large number of orders, especially from our European core markets, recorded at the end of the year ensured that we were able to repeat the strong 2019 order performance in 2020,” said chief executive José Luis Blanco.

“We are confident that this momentum will continue in the New Year. The demand from our customers for efficient wind turbines to support climate-friendly electricity production continues unabated worldwide."

Orders surged to 2.26GW in the last quarter of 2020, up from 1.48GW in the fourth quarter of 2019, again led by European, US and Latin American orders.

In Europe, Nordex was particularly successful in Germany, Norway, the UK, Finland and France last year.

In Latin America, utility Statkraft placed a massive 518MW order for Nordex turbines in Brazil in December, and the manufacturer was also able to break into the relatively new Colombian market with a large deal.

The trend towards bigger turbines continued, with the Delta4000 platform accounting for a staggering 81% of orders in 2020, up from 44% a year earlier. Launched only in 2019, the N163/5.X turbine alone accounted for 877MW of new orders.

Wind

Wind group Nordex hails 'strong' 2020 order intake despite Covid delays