In 2013, Danish wind companies experienced a slight overall decline in turnover and exports. Despite this, the Danish wind industry still performed better than the highly challenged global wind market.
The Danish Wind Industry Association’s recently published industry statistics show a decline in 2013, but 2014 will bring back industry growth, says the Association.
The recently published report outlines the performance of the large group of companies in the Danish wind industry in 2013, where the global market for new wind energy installations dropped 26 pct.
compared to the year before. In the report, the Danish Wind Industry Association presents a decline in Danish exports by 6.9 pct. in 2013. In the same year, the report also shows a fall in the revenue of 1.6 pct., which ended on level with previous years at approx. 80 billion DKK.
“In a global perspective, companies in the Danish wind industry got well through 2013. When looking at the general market decline, Danish wind companies actually outperformed several other competitors, and it is noteworthy that the Danish industry almost managed to maintain its revenues, “says Jan Hylleberg, CEO, Danish Wind Industry Association.
Exports saw a greater decline than revenue with a 7 pct. decrease from 52.3 billion DKK in 2012 to 48.7 billion DKK in 2013. In the Danish wind industry, 61 pct. of the turnover was exported against 64 pct.
“In addition to the large drop in the international market, the fall in exports of almost 7 pct. happened due to the extraordinary large number of activities in Denmark last year. In 2013, Danish manufacturers and companies had a larger than normal domestic focus with the commissioning of the Anholt wind farm, which meant that fewer items were exported. Therefore, the decrease is quite understandable,” says Jan Hylleberg.
Political uncertainty harms
2013 was the first year since the 1980s that the global wind market dropped. This drop in installed capacity can in particular be attributed to declines in markets like the United States and Spain, where national political support for renewable energy almost disappeared.
“There is no doubt that the political uncertainty we saw in several markets in 2013 has contributed greatly to the decline we experienced in Denmark.
Once again, this underlines the need for long-term planning and political clarity in all markets, so that the industry can make long-term and appropriate investments,” explains Jan Hylleberg.
