Strong generator demand

11 July 2023

Demand for diesel generators in Europe is likely to remain strong for the rest of this year as the world recovers from supply chain issues and to meet the need for reliable power supplies. 

That was the view expressed by Romain Mocaër, Director of the Powergen Statistics research organisation, speaking at the PowerEx Live North conference held near Knutsford and organised by the Power Media International Group. 

He said that sales had grown by 25 per cent in both 2021 and 2022 because of factors like hire fleet renewals and expansion, ongoing data centre development and fear of outages following the Ukraine conflict. The market remains strong although some easing is anticipated during the second half of 2023. 

Possible market restraints include a reduction in construction activity and particularly house building; increased equipment inventory holdings amongst distributors; and the transition to alternative energy sources. 

However, other factors could boost demand, such as a continuing need for standby power; improving manufacturer lead times; greater take-up of HVO fuel; and the requirement to charge more electrical vehicles (by somewhat ironically using power produced by generators). 

Many orders placed some months ago are also still working their way along the supply chain, particularly for larger sets of greater than 2000kVA capacity for use by data centres, a market that continues to see strong growth. 

Romain Mocaër also pointed out that the origin of manufacture of gensets was changing, with more now being made in China and Turkey. 

● Explore the Site-Eco area of the blog for news of sustainable products and developments relevant to the world of hire.

Photo shows generators fromHimoinsa