Factbox: Chinese wind turbine makers involvement in EU projects

Goldwind Science & Technology Co

10/04/2024 15:22

By Nina Chestney
       LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission has
requested information as part of a preliminary review of
possible market distortions by Chinese wind turbine makers in
five European Union countries, a move that China called
"discriminatory".
    EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday the
Commission was investigating the conditions for wind park
development in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria, 
without giving further details about why these countries in
particular were highlighted. 
    
    HOW MANY TURBINES ARE SUPPLIED BY CHINESE MANUFACTURERS?
    Around 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of Chinese-made wind turbines are
currently installed or planned to be installed in Europe,
including Britain, according to lobby group Green Power Denmark.
    Total EU wind generation capacity amounted to 221 GW last
year, according to Commission statistics. 
    Europe installed 18.3 GW of new wind power capacity last
year alone, with the EU's 27 countries installing 16.2 GW of
that, according to industry group WindEurope. 
    The supply of Chinese wind turbines for EU projects is
relatively small and the European market is still dominated by
domestic players such as Vestas  VWS.CO , Enercon, Nordex
 NDXG.DE  and Siemens Gamesa  ENR1n.DE .
    However, overcapacity in the Chinese market has led to more
exports abroad and Chinese turbines are cheaper than
European-made ones, with manufacturers offering attractive
deferred payments, industry sources said.
    
    WHICH CHINESE MANUFACTURERS SUPPLY TURBINES?
    Goldwind  002202.SZ , Envision, MingYang  301291.SZ ,
Shanghai Electric  601727.SS , Sinovel and Zhejiang Windley are
the main players involved in EU projects, which are not just in
the countries highlighted by the Commission probe but also in
Italy, Croatia and Sweden, as well as non-EU member countries
North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Ukraine and
Turkey.

    WHICH WIND PARKS USE CHINESE WIND TURBINES?
    According to industry group WindEurope, the majority are
onshore wind. Focusing on the countries highlighted by the
Commission, those which are online already include six in
France, one in Bulgaria, one in Romania and three in Greece.
    Under construction, there are two in France. 

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
EXPLAINER-China's dominance in wind turbine manufacturing   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N3GJ0YC
EU to investigate Chinese wind turbine suppliers     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N3GI2W2
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Nina Chestney, America Hernandez, Stine Jacobsen;
editing by Mark Potter)
 ((nina.chestney@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0) 020 7513 5674;
Reuters Messaging: nina.chestney.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net;
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaChestney))