From the point of view of the European wind energy association WindEurope, fair competition conditions must be the basic prerequisite for Chinese wind energy companies to gain access to the EU market. “The Chinese turbine manufacturers are knocking hard on the door and want to enter the European market, as they did 15 years ago with solar and Photovoltaics made,” WindEurope boss Giles Dickson told the German Press Agency in Rostock.
Chinese companies are sometimes undercutting the prices of European manufacturers by 30 to 50 percent and are also granting payment deferrals of several years. “They can only offer these financial conditions because the cash flow is supported by Chinese state-owned financial banks.” The companies are active on all continents and now want to gain a foothold in the European market.
Dickson agreed with the EU Commission’s position that it wants to insist that the Chinese plants are only offered on the basis of fair conditions. The EU has the tools and means to insist on this legally. The overall situation is currently being examined and conclusions will be drawn after that. That could be at the end of this year or next year.
A question of data security
“We believe in open markets. And we believe in fair markets,” said the WindEurope boss, who also raised security concerns. The new wind turbines have up to 300 sensors that transmit a lot of data to the control centers every minute. This data should remain in Europe or in safe countries, warned Dickson. “In current EU legislation, China is not on the list of safe countries.”
It should be noted that the data sent does not only provide information about the status and function of the respective components. “They also have the capacity to control and manage this component.” The question arises whether Chinese suppliers should be allowed to do this, says Dickson. “We are still in the process of moving away from an unwise dependence on Russian gas. We should not become more dependent on Chinese renewable energy.”
Still small market share for the Chinese
According to the Brussels-based association, the share of Chinese turbines ordered in Europe last year was less than three percent. The remaining 97 percent of orders were received by the five major European turbine manufacturers. It can therefore be said that almost all wind energy projects in Europe today are operated with European turbines.
Dickson attended the Rostock Wind conference. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern aims to cover the state’s entire energy needs, including heat supply and mobility, from renewable sources by 2035. However, this will require considerable expansion. 1,859 wind turbines currently generate electricity in MV.
