UK is tops in small-wind turbine exports

The global demand for small wind technology continues to grow, and the UK has come out as the world’s largest exporter of wind turbines in the 50-kilowatt and smaller division, two recent studies have shown.

A global study released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) shows significant international growth in demand for small wind technology. And new figures released by the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) show that the UK last year deployed 4.7-megawatts’ worth of wind turbines in international markets.

“The UK currently exports more small wind systems than any other country in the world and has a great potential domestic market,” said Ron Stimmel, who authored the AWEA study. “In the US, the world’s largest small-wind market, the federal government recently enacted a long-term financial incentive for small wind turbine consumers that could bring a 30-fold growth to the US industry in as little as five years. With the right policies, the UK market could see similar growth.”

UK manufacturers currently hold an 82-per cent revenue share of the UK market and export 50 per cent of their output to more than 100 different countries. Benefiting from a weak British pound, 2008 export revenues for UK companies doubled and in the same year the sector created 500 new UK-based jobs.

“The cleantech economy sector in general has been relatively strong throughout the global recession and credit crisis, and small wind is no exception,” stated the AWEA study. “Even amidst the downturn, economies of scale are beginning to take shape in the industry and growth projections are the strongest in the industry’s 80-year history” .

“In the context of the current economic climate, record falls in UK manufacturing output, and challenging times for the UK green agenda, this news represents a glowing success story for a vibrant world leading UK manufacturing industry,” said Alex Murley, small system manager at the BWEA. “If the UK marketplace is supported now, this promising UK sector could supply fast expanding global markets for decades to come.”

Since 2005, more than 10,000 small wind-turbine systems have been deployed in the UK, equating to over 20 megawatts of installed electrical capacity. The industry is estimated to now provide some 1,880 UK-based jobs.

“We hope that unlike big wind, the UK’s early technical lead will result in sustainable long term success, and the Government should further expand support to this potentially very big industry,” said Leonard McGrill, chairman of Iskra Wind Turbines.

“It would be helpful if the UK followed through on current successes with a strong feed-in tariff for small wind and a predictable planning system, to consolidate UK leadership in small wind manufacturing,” added David Sharman, director of Ampair.