The key United States market for wind turbine manufacturers will grow more slowly than expected in the next few years, while Asian markets will expand faster, according to a new analysis from UBS Ltd.
Individual U.S. states are boosting their requirements for clean, renewable power, but an oversupply of wind projects has softened the price that developers can get for the electricity they produce, the UBS report says.
While this has slowed growth slightly, the overall U.S. market for wind power will still expand by an average of 15 per cent a year between now and 2015, the report says.
At the same time, global wind installations will accelerate even faster than expected, thanks to the immense activity in China, the UBS study says.
Over all, this means that turbine makers with exposure to the U.S. market, such as Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems and Spain's Gamesa Corporacion, may do a little worse than expected, while those with strong Asian exposure, such as domestic Chinese manufacturers, may get slightly better results.
In Europe, the key area of growth will be for turbines that are placed offshore.