04.07.2024

A German company has signed a deal for Chinese wind turbines

Renewable energy company Luxcara has signed a contract to install 16 Chinese wind turbines in Germany for the first time, further fueling EU industry fears that it will be overtaken by competition from abroad. Euractiv.

Chinese companies – which are said to produce significantly cheaper turbines – have been making their way into the European market in recent years. Many major EU countries, including France, are now home to Chinese-made wind turbines. Germany, Europe's biggest wind market, has so far avoided Chinese manufacturers.

On July 2, Luxcara, a German renewable energy company based in Hamburg, announced that it had struck a deal - known as a "preferred supplier agreement" - with China's Mingyang Power Plant for 16 offshore wind turbines to be built in the North Sea by 2028

The large turbines, with a rotor diameter of 260 meters and a capacity of 18,5 MW each, will be installed near the island of Borkum in the North Sea by 2028.

Luxcara's announcement comes three months after the Zero Emissions Industries Act, which aims to protect the EU's stake in key clean-tech industries such as wind and solar, was approved.

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"With this project, China gets access to critical infrastructure in Germany. The European supply chain would be ready to supply the wind turbines for this project," said a spokesman for WindEurope, the industry lobby group in Brussels.

One of the most anticipated tools from the European wind industry will be cybersecurity criteria – opening the door to the EU banning Chinese turbines on national security grounds, similar to the treatment of telecoms giant Huawei.

Luxcara says due diligence has been carried out and the project complies with EU taxonomy and cyber security, supported by independent experts from international consultants DNV and KPMG.

"Management, operation and control of the wind farm will remain entirely in the hands of an independent German company. Some parts will be produced in Europe," adds Luxcara.

"Germany and the European Union should consider whether they see wind energy as a strategic sector before it is too late," countered WindEurope.

"We must not allow major industrial projects to be used to fuel Chinese competition instead of building Europe's own industry." Such an economic policy is naive because China is currently preparing the deindustrialization of Europe," said Michael Bloss, a Green MEP from Germany.

The EU wind industry has repeatedly tried to rally EU countries behind its cause, eventually leading to the signing of a supportive "EU Wind Charter" by 26 energy ministers at the end of 2023.

They then endorsed a commitment to actively monitor and, if warranted, consider measures to address possible unfair trade practices in the international market for wind-related products.