Diagnosing the Wind Sector

Abstract

In the space of three decades, the wind sector has grown from its provincial and agricultural origins to a global, high-tech industry. This chapter reviews key aspects of this development, whilst focusing on the wind sector’s current characteristics. It thereby provides the context for the thematic analyses of later chapters. The first section provides data on wind power as a global industry. It reviews the turbine industry, identifying the major players and their strategies. The second section turns to the demand side. It considers changing patterns of ownership of wind installations, reviewing the relative importance of small versus large-scale capitalism in the evolution of the sector. The third section analyses the ways in which technological change — particularly increases in size of turbines and installations — has changed both the supply and demand sides of the equation, leading to the transformation of deployment and ownership patterns within the wind sector. The chapter will thereby address the question of whether the development of wind power has been closer to ‘the soft path’ brokered by the ‘alternative technology’ movement, or to the ‘hard path’ and bulk power orientation of the utilities.