China dominates the wind energy market. An industry expert warns: In an emergency, China could exercise power over Germany.
Berlin – Just a few weeks ago, the Bavarian Business Association (vbw) gave the German energy transition a bleak report. “Germany is struggling but cannot achieve the energy transition,” is one of the key statements. There is a need for expansion, particularly in the area of wind energy compared to solar energy. Chinese wind turbines often play a role if the expansion is successful. But that is exactly what could prove problematic in an emergency, warns an expert.
China's dominance in wind energy
Germany has ambitious goals when it comes to the energy transition. By 2030, wind farms with a capacity of 30 gigawatts are to be built at sea alone. Industry experts estimate that this will require around 7,000 wind turbines - each as big as the Eiffel Tower. One obstacle is that the Federal Republic can count less and less on the support of neighboring states that make their important ports available. They increasingly need this themselves.
Bärbel Heidebroek, President of the Federal Wind Energy Association (BWE), expressed
concerns about Chinese influence on the expansion of wind energy in Germany in an interview with
n-tv
. “The Chinese state subsidizes its companies extremely,” says Heidebroek. “This is not fair competition. European wind manufacturers cannot compete with this.” She warns of a repetition of the scenario from the solar industry, in which Chinese companies virtually suffocated European companies. European governments must ensure that this is not repeated in the wind energy sector.
The European Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) already provides a legal framework for possible countermeasures. It stipulates that 40 percent of all green technologies must be produced in Europe. There is currently a discussion at EU level about how the relevant regulations must be designed in order to offer the wind industry a “fair framework”.
China's “red button” and access to German wind energy
In addition to the danger of Chinese dominance in the wind market, there is another risk. According to Heidebroek, every manufacturer potentially has access to their wind turbines. “Manufacturers must also have this access, because the system has to be maintained or shut down in the event of a bottleneck or malfunction.” If there were only Chinese wind turbines in Germany, China could theoretically “press a red button and it would be dark”. It calls for clear rules, similar to those in the telecommunications industry. Dominance or even control by China must be ruled out.
However, China is already well on its way to dominance. In 2023, Chinese wind turbine manufacturers dominated the global market. Four of the five largest manufacturers came from China, compared to only two last year. This was reported
by Bloomberg
, citing data from a report by
BloombergNEF
. After Goldwind Science & Technology Co. and Envision Energy.Co (both Chinese), Vestas Wind Systems from Denmark secured third place. Industry giants such as General Electric from the USA and Siemens Gamesa fell out of the top five.
Around two thirds of all new buildings (both onshore and offshore wind turbines) were built by Chinese manufacturers last year. US wind manufacturers, on the other hand, lost significant ground.
Germany's expansion of wind energy is lagging behind
However, Heidebroek is against punitive tariffs as they would only trigger a trade war. Regardless, Germany needs to take urgent measures to strengthen its wind energy industry. The expansion of wind energy is currently making slow progress. The long-term goal is an annual expansion of twelve gigawatts; Germany currently has 3.4 gigawatts. In some districts of Bavaria there is even a dismantling instead of an expansion.
In this context, the Federal Wind Energy Association (BWE) is pushing for a rapid implementation of the EU Directive 2023/2413, also known as RED III. “The directive offers every opportunity to speed up and simplify procedures. It is ideally suited as a platform for implementing the resolutions of the federal-state pact to accelerate planning and approval from November 2023,” the association explained in a statement. However, the federal government is not making sufficient use of these options.