European wind turbine manufacturers worry about China's competition

Editor's note: Five years ago, the top ten wind turbine manufacturers in the world did not see a single Chinese company. Today, Chinese companies have four seats in them: Sinovel (the second largest wind turbine manufacturer, second only to Vestas), Goldwind, Dongfang and UnitedPower. ). China is striving to solve the huge domestic energy demand and pollution problems. For the first time last year, it surpassed the United States in terms of total installed wind power capacity.

Not far from Magdeburg, Germany, where the world’s most powerful wind turbine stands and stands beneath its huge blades, it’s hard to imagine that the European wind industry will have foreign competitors. Deeply worried.

This wind turbine, which is nearly the same height as the Great Pyramid of Giza, was built by the world's fifth-largest supplier of wind turbines, the German company Enercon.

Drive from here for 6 hours, you can reach Vestas, Denmark's largest wind turbine supplier. Germany's Siemens is not far from here. According to the data of wind energy industry consulting company BTM, Siemens is the world's ninth largest wind turbine supplier. In addition, a few hours' flight from here will allow us to reach the eighth largest wind turbine supplier in the world, Gamesa in Spain.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) stated that European wind turbine manufacturers accounted for 89% of the European market, 32% of the US market and 37% of the global market.

However, even in the European market, the stronghold of European local fans, the concerns of all parties regarding the new force in the global wind energy industry, China, have also increased.

Five years ago, one of the top ten wind turbine manufacturers in the world could not see a Chinese company. Today, Chinese companies have four seats in them: Sinovel (the second largest wind turbine manufacturer, second only to Vestas), Goldwind, Dongfang and UnitedPower. ).

According to a report written by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), China is manufacturing new wind turbines at the rate of one hour per hour. The report estimates that by 2020, China's wind power capacity may reach 13 times that of the Three Gorges Dam.

China is striving to solve the huge domestic energy demand and pollution problems. For the first time last year, it surpassed the United States in terms of total installed wind power capacity.

However, the Chinese government has slowed down the pace of building new wind farms because of the difficulty of digesting thousands of new wind turbines in China's power system. In this context, Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, whose wind turbine prices are 30% lower than those of their Western counterparts, are increasingly focusing their attention on foreign markets.

Hua Gang, a spokesperson for Huarui Wind Power Company, said that at Huarui, "internationalization" is "a top priority." He said: "In the process of building Sinovel into a truly international company, overseas business transactions will play a decisive role. (Europe) is undoubtedly one of the most important markets for Sinovel."

Ruth, head of the company's Berlin office at the Ignac’s Magdeburg factory When RuthBrand-Schock was asked if he was worried about China, he simply answered: "Worried."

She said: "We have seen the precedent of the solar industry and the grand strategy of Chinese companies to capture the global market." She pointed to the fact that China has become the world's largest solar panel producer. In the wind energy field, the current situation is just the beginning.

"In terms of fan quality, Chinese companies are still better than European companies. So, this gives us some time, but this time is not too much."

So far, the development pace of China's wind turbine companies in Europe has been relatively slow.

Goldwind purchased German wind turbine design in 2008. The most remarkable deal to date has occurred in July of this year. Sinovel announced that it has reached a total of €1.5 billion with Mainstream RenewablePower, an Irish wind farm developer. Billion Dollar (USD) Wind Farm Construction Association Siemens WindPower's (CTO) Henrik at lunch (squid and fruit) at a factory in Brande, Denmark. Henrik Stiesdal admits, “You have to pay attention to the challenges from low-cost producers such as China, which is obvious”, although he also added that “the market is currently producing quality products for these countries and European producers. There is also a difference in confidence."

The Chinese government has been concerned about the quality of domestically produced wind turbines. It launched investigations on this issue in November last year and tightened certification requirements for wind turbines earlier this year.

However, how long the so-called quality gap can protect Western companies is still unknown.

“There is a sense of arrogance and anxiety in Western producers,” said Colin, a renewable energy consulting firm GL Garrad Hassan. Colin Morgan said. He said that the design of China's wind turbines is only "less than" western companies, and that China's wind turbines and western wind turbines have "many things in common in the supply chain."

Morgan also refuted another view that can often be heard in the western wind energy industry: Once China's wind turbines are shipped abroad, their cost advantages will disappear.

He said that although this cost advantage will be eroded by transportation costs, because Chinese manufacturers can get financial support, they still have the upper hand.

The agreement reached between Sinovel and Irish company was funded by the National Development Bank (CDB). CDB also provided Goldwind Technology with a $6 billion credit facility.

"For land projects, 80% of the money is spent on wind turbine purchases," Morgan said. "If the funds are put into place with the wind turbine, the project will be stable."