World leading farm scale wind turbine manufacturer Gaia-Wind has today achieved the prestigious Scottish Green Energy Award for Exports. The Scottish Green Energy Awards was established by Scottish Renewables to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of the renewable energy industry in Scotland.
Gaia-Wind has been recognised for developing an export strategy which has enabled the company to underpin its contribution to the Scottish renewable energy sector while reducing dependence on the domestic market to around 15% of total sales. The export strategy was developed following a series of calamitous UK Government measures severely constraining the UK market for farm scale wind turbines.
CEO Johnnie Andringa said:
“Last week an industry report[1] set out how UK Government policies have almost crippled the UK farm scale wind industry. Gaia-Wind has and will be developing other international markets to continue our growth. In the last year, some of our competitors, with a strong dependence on the UK market, have stopped trading due to UK policy changes (most notably; Evance Ltd and Quiet Revolution Ltd). The report warns of a shrinking domestic market leading to production being moved abroad: This is a very real threat unless UK Government hears the message and acts immediately.
“We are thrilled to be awarded the Scottish Green Energy Award for Exports. Our export focussed strategy has not only allowed us to increase sales overall by a projected 60% over 2013 but has enabled us to open or increase sales in, other markets including Italy, Denmark, the US, Australia, France and Israel. At 16,109 kilometres from our Glasgow manufacturing base, our turbine on Tonga sets the distance record for a Gaia-Wind export order and we are in discussions to increase the fleet on the island kingdom.”
“In 2012 Gaia-Wind enjoyed a record year, supplying 270 turbines, the vast majority of which went to the UK market. In 2013, faced with a very challenging domestic market, the company ramped up its export agenda. Of 103 turbines shipped in that year, more than 30% were for export. While the market in the UK has only got tougher, in 2014 year to date export sales account for 60% of all deliveries - forecast to be 70% by year end.
"Achieving local certification of the G-W 133 turbine for the Japanese market is a recent milestone: With the most attractive sub 20kW FiT in the world and a market size 1.6 times that of the UK, Japan will contribute significantly to a doubling of our size in 2015, creating more job opportunities.”
Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said:
"Renewable energy businesses are renowned for their innovation and creativity and Gaia-Wind captures that spirit of inventiveness perfectly. Faced with a challenging domestic market, Gaia looked abroad and ramped up its export agenda – with tremendous success. In 2013, exports accounted for 30 per cent of its deliveries but this will reach around 70 per cent by the end of 2014.
“Gaia - Wind turbines are now at around 1000 sites across the world – and it is amazing to think that one of its turbines is in Tonga, 10,000 miles away from where it was made in Glasgow.
“This kind of creativity demonstrates the potential to take Scottish renewable energy expertise and market it internationally. Gaia - Wind has set the standard and I hope many other businesses in our sector will rise to the challenge.”
