Direct Drive Wind Turbine Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, By Technology, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2025

The global direct drive wind turbine market is expected to witness growth over the forecast period, driven by the increasing global energy consumption. These turbines are lighter as well as more cost-efficient than conventional wind turbines as they do not contain a gearbox which reduces their weight and eliminates maintenance problems related to the gearbox. Currently, various regions such as the Asia Pacific and Europe are facing the problem of gearbox failure in wind turbines which is expected to increase the global demand for gearless wind turbines.

Favorable environmental regulations are expected to have a positive impact on the global direct drive (gearless) wind turbine market as these turbines do not require an oil cooling mechanism which eliminates the chances of environmental hazards and fire occurrence. Higher costs over the foreseeable future of direct drive wind turbines on account of expensive gears used and variability in wind speed are expected to hamper the global market growth over the next six years.

In recent years, R&D initiatives in the gearless turbine field have resulted in enhanced installation techniques and cost-effective turbine design which has lowered the initial investment required in the industry. Direct drive turbine technology includes rare earth metals. These metals are imported from China and not produced in bulk. Uncertain availability and hazardous contents in them attract the environmental regulatory guidelines into it. This is expected to have a negative impact on the overall gearless wind turbine market.

The direct drive turbine market is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Their offshore potential and reliability are anticipated to attract gearless turbine manufacturers for offshore-related applications. The global direct drive turbines market is segmented in terms of capacity and technology. On the basis of capacity, it is categorized into less than 1 MW, 1MW- 3MW, and more than 3 MW. While on the basis of technology, it is segmented into permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and electrically excited synchronous generator (EESG).

The 1MW-3MW segment was the leading global direct drive (gearless) wind turbine capacity market. PMSG technology is more preferable technology over EESG as it is more reliable for offshore-related applications and is lighter in weight. With the increase in offshore activities, PMSG technology is expected to experience high growth over the forecast period. The Asia Pacific was the leading gearless turbine market and is also expected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period. China geographically benefitted the market and is expected to witness rapid growth over the next six years.

India is also expected to experience high CAGR and contribute significantly to regional market growth. Followed by the Asia Pacific, Europe is also expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. The strong presence of environmental regulatory bodies in this region is expected to have a positive impact on the regional market. The North America market, on the other hand, is expected to grow at a significant CAGR over the forecast period.

Central & South America is also expected to witness stable growth over the foreseeable future. Countries including Germany, the U.S., China, Spain, and India are the major countries with maximum market demand. In terms of market growth, China, the U.S., and Germany are expected to contribute towards the highest direct drive (gearless) market growth on account of continuous capacity additions to the existing industry participants.

Global direct drive (gearless) wind turbine market is dominated by a large number of manufacturers. Major industry participants include GE Energy, Avantis Energy Group, and ReGen Powertech Pvt. Ltd, Enercon, M. Torres Olvega Industrial, Godecke Energy, Leitwind AG, Siemens Wind Power A/S, Northern Power System, Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd, Emergya Wind Technologies B.V, etc. Industry participants are expected to focus on developments of direct drive technologies with more efficiency, flexibility, and reliability features.