Uproar in Germany over Chinese wind turbines

Admin I Tuesday, September 10, 2024

 

HAMBURG – Germany needs better protection from unfair Chinese competition in the wind turbine sector, Germany’s largest trade union, IG Metall and workers’ representatives from Siemens Energy said on Monday.

They were reacting to the awarding of a preliminary contract for 16 large turbines to the Chinese manufacturer Ming Yang following a tender.

According to the investor Luxcara, the gigantic wind turbines, with a rotor diameter of 260 metres, are to be installed in the Waterkant wind farm off the island of Borkum by 2028. The project is expected to generate electricity for 400,000 households.

IG Metall’s Jürgen Kerner warned that Germany was “exposing another future technology to the risk of falling victim to unfair competition. That must not happen.” It is also important not to lose control of the critical infrastructure, he said.

Chinese companies undercut the prices of European manufacturers by 30% to 50% in some cases, and also granted payment deferrals of several years. This is only possible with the support of state banks.

The Hamburg-based company Luxcara explained that the tender also took into account EU requirements on sustainability and cyber security. Ming Yang guarantees that the turbines will be generated entirely from renewable energies and that components will come from European suppliers.

The chairman of the General Works Council at Siemens Gamesa, Horst Hakelberg, called on politicians to protect tens of thousands of jobs. Across Europe, 300,000 employees work directly or indirectly in the wind industry.

“Above all, we must not deprive ourselves of the opportunity to implement the energy transition independently,” he said. “New dependencies must be avoided at all costs.”