Highest Employment Level in the Danish Wind Industry since 2008

14 June 2017

2016 was a busy year for the Danish wind industry. It led to the recruitment of 1,713 new employees. This is evident from the figures in the Danish Wind Industry Association’s latest industry statistics, which has been drawn up by DAMVAD Analytics. Export increased by 16 % last year which meant a total of DKK 55.6 billion in export and the revenue increased by more than DKK 9 billion. If the contributions from the energy companies’ wind activities are put into account, last year's revenue was DKK 118 billion and the industry had almost 33,000 employees. Last year was thus the best since the industry’s peak before the financial crisis.

- The positive figures for 2016 emphasize the wind industry as an important growth engine for Denmark and there is a global demand for the products and solutions, which the industry is world famous for delivering, says CEO of the Danish Wind Industry Association, Jan Hylleberg and elaborates:

- The wind industry’s many companies is noticing the increasing global competition, which is why, I am pleased to see the export grow again in 2016 after a disappointing year in 2015. We are now almost back to the same level as the record years from 2008 to 2009.

In 2015, there was a significant decline in export, which is why the export is increasing extraordinarily in 2016. The reason behind this development may be found in the increasing export to the Netherlands and the UK, which has respectively tripled and doubled from 2015 to 2016.

Widespead economic growth

The wind industry is spread out across all regions of Denmark and in 2016, the number of employees within all regions rose. The growth was highest in the region of Northern Denmark with 13.9% and 9.7% in the region of Zealand. Central Jutland is still the region where the industry accounts for the biggest share of employees in the region with around 12,500 people employed in the wind industry, corresponding to 4% of all the region’s employees in the private sector. The national level is 2.2%.

- Four out of five jobs are located the western part of Denmark, which is why one cannot underestimate the importance of the wind industry as a growth engine, especially in the western regions of Denmark. Naturally, I would like us to continue to adapt to the companies’ conditions in order for the rate to continue its growing course, says Jan Hylleberg.

The wind industry accounts for 4.1% of Denmark’s export, while wind turbine-related products accounts for just under 7% of export commodities. These results from 2016 places Denmark in first place yet again. According to the statistics, Denmark is the EU-15 country where the largest share of exports comes from wind turbine-related products.

Main figures

From 2015 to 2016, the revenue in the wind industry increased by 10.8%, to DKK 118, 1 billion in total.
In 2016, the industry employed 32,898 full-time employees (including energy companies).
The number of full-time employees has increased continuously since 2013 and increased by 6.2% last year when the energy companies are included.
The revenue per year is at the highest since 2009 - at DKK 3, 1 million.
2.2% of employees in the private sector in Denmark works in the wind industry. In Central Jutland, the figure is 4 %.
Exports increased by 16% from 2015 to 2016 and amounted to DKK 55, 6 billion.
The wind industry accounts for 4.1 % of Denmark’s total export.
Export of wind turbine-related products accounts for 6.9% of total exports.
Germany is the largest export market for the wind industry and accounts for 31% followed. Germany is followed by the Netherlands and the UK. The United States is the fifth largest export market.

About the report

The annual statistics of the wind industry from the Danish Wind Industry Association concerns the entire Danish wind industry from core component manufacturers to subcontractors and service companies as well as energy companies.
The report covers how the industry has performed in 2016 in terms of revenue, employment, and export. Furthermore, data from the period 2006-2016 are included in order to show the industry's development.
The revenue results figures are presented at national and regional level, employment is presented at national level, regional and municipal level, while export is shown in a national and European perspective. In the section on export, Denmark's exports of wind turbine-related products are compared with other EU countries.
The report includes energy companies in the statistics on national turnover and employment. Their turnover and employment rate related to wind energy has been calculated on the basis of information about twelve selected energy companies’ turnovers, as these energy companies account for the vast majority of Danish energy companies’ turnover within the Danish wind sector.
The report is based on data from Statistics Denmark, Eurostat and the CVR-registry. The statistics are rich in detail. they are based on corporate official reports to public authorities, primarily tax and corporate accounts. This ensures a true and fair view of the industry's activities, which are consistent over time.

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