The Battle in the Wind Energy Industry : The Case of Envision Energy

Abstract: Wind power is one of the world fastest growing electricity sources in the world and has since 1990 roughly been doubling in capacity every four years. The industry boom and the followed technology development has made the clean and inexhaustible wind energy, price competitive with fossil fuels, making wind power a sustainable tool to address climate change. The European and the North American market was long the dominant wind power markets in the world. Due to the rapid development in emerging economies a change in both market and turbine manufactures has occurred, making Asia the largest market in the world, housing five of the top ten wind power manufactures in 2015. This thesis focus on business model research in Envision Energy, a Chinese wind turbine manufacture, which in short time has gone from being a new entrant to one of the top manufactures in the world, focusing on quality and technology innovation. The research combines primary data from a semi structured interview with secondary data about Envision, the wind industry and the Chinese wind industry. By exploring Envisions business model and the context they operate in, this study found some key factors for Envision successful business model and drivers to enter the international market. As a Chinese wind turbine manufacture, Envisions have done many things that stands out compared to their domestic competitors. Already in their initial stage they set out to establish international innovation centers to be present in the global technology hot spots and be up to date with the newest technology and solutions. Their global presence was made possible by requiting industry experts from competitors, which also came to Envision with the necessary technical know-how, market knowledge and industry networks. Focusing on technical innovation and emphasizing on quality, Envisions has developed new innovative turbine and software solutions, using globally recognized suppliers instead of the domestic suppliers mostly used by their Chinese competitors. Envision has become recognized as quality wind turbine provider in the Chinese market who takes system integrated life cycle approach to lower the cost of energy. With their vision of revolutionize the energy sector on a global scale, Envision recently entered the international space on three continents, with a generic internationalization strategy. The human resources are the core of Envisions business model and are the underlying factor of their rapid success in the Chinese market as they managed to provide reliable turbines when their competitors struggled. With the human resources Envision could establish themselves internationally short after their foundation. The combined knowledge from the international organization enabled them to develop innovative wind turbine solutions, while emphasizing on quality. With a system integrated life cycle approach Envision focus to lower the cost energy with wind turbine solutions and a software system which can enhance asset life and performance on any renewable energy asset. The vision to make an impact on the energy sector has been the main driver behind Envisions internationalization, even though external drivers are imminent.