LITTLETON, Colorado, June 28 (Reuters) - Germany's Siemens Energy is the latest major wind turbine producer to reveal development and operational difficulties in the technically demanding and fast-growing space.

The German engineering giant scrapped its 2023 profit outlook last week after a review of its wind turbine unit exposed deeper than expected problems that could cost more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).

In January, United States-based General Electric Co and Danish turbine maker Vestas both issued downbeat outlooks for 2023 tied mainly to their wind power divisions, with supply chain delays, raw materials inflation, labour shortages and challenging installation conditions all eroding margins.

All three firms are also up against Chinese giants such as Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology, Dongfang Electric and Sinovel Wind Group, which benefit from unmatched state-backed financing support and operate in the world's largest and fastest-growing wind power market.

Even with the operating challenges and cut-throat competition, however, most major wind turbine manufacturers still have a relatively bright future, thanks in large part to the push by global governments to decarbonise power systems that will drive demand for wind power supply steadily higher in the years ahead.

STEEP GROWTH, EVERYWHERE

Asia dominates the global wind power market, accounting for just over 47% of the worldwide capacity growth in 2022, according to Ember.

China alone accounted for over 92% of Asia's capacity gains last year, boosting installed capacity by a whopping 28% on the year, or by 86 gigawatts (GW).

Chinese firms in turn out-muscled international rivals in terms of domestic installations, but global firms including Siemens and Vestas had their fair share of opportunities elsewhere in 2022, and will continue to going forward.

Outside of Asia, Europe was the fastest growing region in terms of wind capacity in 2022, where installed capacity expanded by close to 20 GW, or by 8.4%.

North America was the next largest wind capacity developer, with 8.84 GW, followed by Latin America, which expanded capacity by 4.36 GW.

Africa, Oceania and the Middle East also lifted wind capacity in 2022, and each region has plans to further boost non-emitting power production capacity going forward.

WIND GROWTH MORE BALANCED THAN SOLAR

With just over half of all wind capacity growth occurring outside of Asia in 2022, global wind turbine producers and installation firms have had a larger share of international opportunities than their counterparts in the solar business.

Asia accounted for nearly 57% of global solar capacity growth in 2022, which means that substantially less than half of growth occurred in other regions.

Chinese firms also have an even larger presence in the solar panel and module space than they do in the wind turbine market, which has forced international rivals to develop niche expertise, depend on local government protection from Chinese competitors, and come up with other ways to scrap for growth opportunities.

This means that even with the heavy firepower deployed by Chinese firms in terms of state-subsidised pricing and products, international firms engaged in the wind power industry look set to have strong growth opportunities, especially outside of Asia, as global demand for renewable generation capacity continues to expand.

SUPPLY CHAINS RECOVERING

International wind turbine manufacturers and installers are also benefiting from a recovery in global supply chains, which is helping to reduce shipping costs and delays, and allow for the replenishment of the myriad parts needed for large projects.

The drop in container freight costs alone offers a significant reprieve for firms that must ship a majority of key components, including generators, by container vessel.

The global average price for shipping a 40-foot container has dropped by roughly 80% over the past year from $7,000-$8,000 per container in May and June of 2022, to less than $ 1,400 currently, according to shipping data from Freightos.

In addition to offering substantial savings, the plummeting freight costs indicate a much smoother flow of key components from producers to warehouses and, ultimately, to project sites.

Siemens, GE and others have also undertaken extensive reviews of their own operational techniques in light of the recent run of poor returns, which will likely help reduce costs and boost margins on future projects and product roll outs.

In combination with continued strong demand for wind power supply capacity and substantially cheaper supply chain flows, the expected improvements in each firms' wind segment performance should also yield improvements in future financial metrics.

That in turn should make the headline-grabbing losses reported by Siemens and others less likely going forward, and help put the entire industry in a better position to earn more investor-friendly coverage in the years ahead.

(Reporting By Gavin Maguire; Editing by Kim Coghill)