According to a survey and statistical data on China’s wind power installations recently released by Chinese Wind Energy Association, the country received orders for 305 wind turbines totaling 494 MW from overseas buyers during the first half of 2015. The orders represented substantially more than the number of units during the same period in 2014.

Statistics showed that six Chinese companies – among them, Dongfang Electric Corporation, Goldwind Science & Technology, United Power, Mingyang Wind Power and Envision – received orders from overseas markets. United Power received the largest number of orders at 163 wind turbines representing an aggregate capacity of 245 MW.

The Global Wind Energy Council forecast that wind power installation capacity worldwide will increase by 60 GW by 2018 with the Indian market a major factor as it achieves steady growth during the period.

Qiao Liming, director of the Global Wind Energy Council China, said that a boom in emerging countries, such as India and Brazil, are expected to offset stagnation in the wind power markets of developed countries.

China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Limited Chairman and CEO Zhang Chuanwei said that due to the European debt crisis, countries in Western Europe saw the pace of growth across the clean energy sector slow over the last few years, opening up opportunities for Chinese companies. Qiao added that the time is ripe for Chinese providers to grasp the opportunities and take advantages of domestic technologies and funding facilities to enter overseas markets. However, Qiao also said that those same companies need to become familiar with the laws, government and investment policies, as well as the cultures of different countries before acting.

Industry insiders have noted that exports of wind power turbines are very important to the country’s wind power industry as a mechanism to improve the overall technical level in the manufacturing process, release production capacity, avoid a price war and improve profitability. Exports can act as the catalyst for upgrading the country’s wind power industry in general.

The country’s wind power manufacturing sector has built a comprehensive industry chain and introduced products that meet the demands of different operating environments, including low temperature, moist heat, typhoon and high altitude. Those are expected to further improve the international competitiveness of made-in-China products. Meanwhile, the overseas wind power equipment operation and maintenance market, which has opened up as a result of the exports of wind power turbines, has become a steady driver of revenue for the sector.

A spokesperson for one of China’s wind power manufacturers said that the company decided to initiate their entry into overseas markets by selling equipment in small batches. The company plans to enter overseas markets with large-scale development of high-quality products after winning the necessary certifications and analyzing the initial results.

A veteran in the wind power industry has advised manufacturers to increase exports while focusing on product quality and technological innovation and to maximize the technological advantages and added value of the products planned for export. He further added that manufacturers rely on the entire industry chain for completion of the overseas projects, including wind power farm investors, wind power turbine manufacturers, certification firms and scientific institutions, as part of the strategy to build international brands.

Lead image credit: Goldwind