According to figures released by the FTI Consulting group, 2014 was a record-breaking year for wind-turbine manufacturers.

However, it warned that the sector could see a fall in demand in 2016 because of regulatory uncertainty. The
findings are included in the group’s Global Wind Market Update – Demand & Supply 2014 report.

This says that global wind capacity reached more than 50GW last year, a 40% increase compared to 2013 (the growth was mainly driven by China, Germany and Brazil). It also says that the industry “is continuing to see a transition away from feed-in tariffs and towards more market-reflective support mechanisms”.

Feng Zhao, head of wind energy at FTI’s Energy Practice division, said: “Last year was a record-breaking one for the wind industry, but it was mainly driven by the ‘boom and bust’ fear created by regulatory uncertainties in both China and Europe.”