SHAKEOUT IN CHINA WIND

'Bloodbath' Seen for Wind Turbine Producers on China Slowdown
Leslie Hook, 24 October 2011 (Financial Times via CNBC)

"China, the world’s biggest market for wind power, is bracing for a sharp slowdown in wind turbine installations this year, a move that will spark a “bloodbath” among wind turbine producers, industry executives say. [China has more than 60 turbine makers, all relative newcomers to the markets, and executives expect that 10-12 major Chinese companies will be left standing after the downturn]…

"The slowdown has already claimed its first victim, as Germany’s Repower told the Financial Times that it planned to end wind turbine production in China by selling their majority stake in a turbine factory in Inner Mongolia……[T]urbine prices have plummeted in recent years as China’s turbine-making capacity has outstripped demand…China’s explosive growth in wind energy took the country from having almost no wind power five years ago, to becoming the world’s largest installer of new turbines last year…"

4 of the top 10 last year, none 5 years ago (click to enlarge)

"…China’s new wind installations [are expected] to fall by 20 per cent because of tightening government regulation and bottlenecks on the electricity grid…[T]he turbine-making industry globally is facing overcapacity and turbulent demand. The U.S., the world’s second-largest market for turbines, is seeing anaemic growth in new installations because a key tax credit is soon to expire…

"…In the first half of this year global wind installations were up 15 per cent…But China expanded by just 2.6 per cent, and that growth is expected to turn negative…European demand for wind turbines has been growing healthily…but could be hurt by austerity measures…[A bright spot] is Germany, which is expected to boost wind power to compensate for use of less nuclear power…"