After an investigation launched following a complaint by the European Wind Tower Association, the European Commission decided to impose anti-dumping duties from 7.2% to 19.2% on imports of steel wind towers from China. The duties apply for five years and aim to protect and defend EU producers and workers, such as those in Denmark and Spain, according to the European Commission. The latest EU tariffs would have little impact on Chinese producers, industry observers said. EU imports of steel wind towers from China are worth €300 million, accounting for a small portion of China's wind power product exports.
In 2020, exports of China's wind turbines were worth USD1.1 billion. The top overseas markets for China's wind turbines are Australia, the U.S., South Africa, Pakistan, Argentina and Ethiopia, according to a 2020 report by the Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA). By the end of 2020, China had exported wind turbines to 38 countries, including four new markets: Canada, Croatia, Vietnam and Greece, the CWEA report said. Goldwind sold the largest number of wind turbines abroad last year, with their capacity overseas hitting 4,300 megawatts and accounting for 60% of China's total wind turbine exports.
Even if there is no big gap in the quality of products between Chinese and Western wind power companies, exports of Chinese companies still lag behind that of Danish Vestas, a major wind power company globally. “That is because Chinese wind power companies mainly rely on the domestic market, and so do the Americans. But European companies would rather focus on the international market,” an observer said. China pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. These ambitious goals require wind power to play a bigger role. For the past 12 years, China has had the largest wind power capacity. China's wind power turbines have generated more than 300 million kilowatt, 1.4 times that of the EU and 2.6 times that of the U.S. by the end of 2020, the Global Times reports.
