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Chinese wind turbine makers participation in EU jobs

The European Commission has inquired as part of a preliminary review of possible market distortions by Chinese wind turbine makers in 5 European Union countries, a relocation that China called discriminatory.

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday the Commission was investigating the conditions for wind park advancement in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria, without providing more information about why these countries in particular were highlighted.

HOW MANY TURBINES ARE SUPPLIED BY CHINESE PRODUCERS?

Around 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of Chinese-made wind turbines are currently installed or prepared to be installed in Europe, consisting of Britain, according to lobby group Green Power Denmark.

Total EU wind generation capacity totaled up to 221 GW last year, according to Commission stats.

Europe installed 18.3 GW of new wind power capacity last year alone, with the EU's 27 nations setting up 16.2 GW of that, according to market group WindEurope.

The supply of Chinese wind turbines for EU tasks is relatively small and the European market is still dominated by domestic gamers such as Vestas, Enercon, Nordex and Siemens Gamesa.

However, overcapacity in the Chinese market has actually resulted in more exports abroad and Chinese turbines are more affordable than European-made ones, with manufacturers providing attractive deferred payments, market sources said.

WHICH CHINESE PRODUCERS SUPPLY TURBINES?

Goldwind, Envision, MingYang, Shanghai Electric, Sinovel and Zhejiang Windley are the main players associated with EU jobs, which are not simply in the nations highlighted by the Commission probe however also in Italy, Croatia and Sweden, as well as non-EU member nations North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey.

WHICH WIND PARKS USAGE CHINESE WIND TURBINES?

According to market group WindEurope, the bulk are onshore wind. Focusing on the nations highlighted by the Commission, those which are online currently include six in France, one in Bulgaria, one in Romania and three in Greece.

Under building and construction, there are 2 in France.