The Global Wind Energy Council ( GWEC) has forecast the manufacture of wind energy related systems and components will grow by 20% per year for the next few years, even as component shortages limit installations.

Installations of wind energy turbines and generators, now a key growth market sector for the bearing industry, have been growing at a compound rate of 28% for the past ten years. In 2006, the industry manufactured generating equipment valued at more than USD $23 billion as worldwide installed capacity increased by 25%.

According to GWEC figures, more than 100,000 wind turbines are now installed worldwide, generating over 74,000 megawatts. As recently as 1995, worldwide capacity was only 4,500 megawatts.

As the market moves upward and away from smaller 1.5GW units to much larger generators, the bearing applications have also shifted from lower-quality units in less demanding situations to larger, high precision bearings required by high output generating stations.

That shift in applications is creating a parallel drift in bearing sourcing -- away from lower-quality bearings and increasingly toward high-precision components available from fewer manufacturers. Those high-precision specialty bearings are far more profitable for manufacturers, and prices are expected to remain strong as demand will outstrip supply for the next several years.

Wind energy and turbine bearings are also considered wear items in long-term installations, potentially creating similarly long-term revenue streams for bearing manufacturers in replacement sales, service and condition monitoring systems.

While wind energy installations are growing worldwide, the market in China is accelerating faster than predicted as it comes under government mandate. Ironically, China's bearing manufacturers are rapidly losing market share in the sector as it moves toward larger, high-precision bearings.

The Wind Research program at the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, operated by Midwest Research Institute, is here: http://www.nrel.gov

simple wind turbine cutaway (courtesy Alliant Energy)