Small Wind Report - U.S. Market Shrinks, Manufacturing Grows with Exports

Wind Energy Weekly, June 29, 2012

While the U.S. small wind turbine market decreased 26 percent in 2011, exports drove a 13.4 percent increase in U.S. manufacturer sales, according to the "2011 Small Wind Turbine Market Report." In the U.S., more than 19 MW of small wind systems were installed, with revenues totaling $115 million. More than 7,300 small wind turbines were installed in the U.S. in 2011 for the sixth consecutive year (for comparison purposes, almost twice the number of utility-scale turbines installed). More than 150,000 total small wind turbines have been installed cumulatively in the last decade. The cumulative installed U.S. capacity increased to 198 MW. Four U.S. manufacturers reported annual sales greater than 1 MW, and 27 manufacturers with a U.S. presence reported sales of 60 turbine models. While domestic sales by U.S. manufacturers accounted for an 80 percent share of the U.S. market by capacity and 90 percent of turbines sold, 54 percent of U.S. manufacturers’ output went to foreign markets—a major increase from 2010.

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