Bearings big in wind power

The charge towards generating more energy from renewable sources has seen the wind turbine industry witness emphatic growth levels over recent years. The economic downturn and subsequent strangling of capital for new projects has slowed this growth somewhat, but bearings manufacturers are nevertheless expected to reap substantial rewards from this sector in the coming years.

Craig Foster, author of “The EMEA and Americas Markets for Bearings” study believes that producers of the spherical roller bearing – the main bearing type used in wind turbines – will be the biggest beneficiaries. “The spherical roller bearing market was estimated to be worth $2.1 billion in the EMEA and $714 million in the Americas in 2008. Whilst total sales of this bearing have fallen in 2009, sales of those used in wind turbines remained fairly steady. Future growth of the spherical roller bearing market is expected to outstrip that of other bearings types as countries seek to fulfil their carbon reduction obligations and add more wind turbines to the electricity grid.”

IMS Research in the UK produced the report: http://www.imsresearch.com/home.html