The EU is initiating a probe into subsidies for wind turbine products from China

The EU Commission will launch a new investigation into whether Chinese wind turbine suppliers have an unfair advantage in the European market through subsidies.

Image from “THE IRISH TIMES”

Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, said Tuesday that the probe would look into the development of wind farms in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria. She did not disclose the names of the relevant companies in his speech.

The European Commission has initiated an investigation into whether tariffs should be imposed on electric cars imported from China, stating that there is evidence indicating that Chinese electric cars benefit from government subsidies.

“It is only natural that the (EU Commission) use the tools at its disposal to restore fair and open competition on the market,” said WindEurope Chief Policy Officer Pierre Tardieu. European manufacturers were banned from using state-backed financing to shore up their bids by offering cheaper prices or deferring payments under OECD free trade rules, Tardieu added on a conference call.

The wind power investigation will be under new EU powers which have allowed the Commission since July 2023 to assess whether foreign subsidies allow companies to submit overly advantageous offers in public tenders. Shares in Vestas, which declined to comment, closed 0.7% higher. A Siemens Energy spokesperson also declined to comment on the EU investigation, but said that all market participants needed a level playing field.

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