Without these actions, Chinese turbines could blow away Europe's wind industry

China already dominates global wind production with state-subsidised low-cost turbines. If we do not strengthen our domestic market and industrial policy, Europe will lose its wind industry – just as it lost its solar manufacturing.

A few years ago, Europe had a strong solar cell industry. It is gone now. Chinese manufacturers took over the market, dumped prices – and European factories went bankrupt. The result is a complete dependence on China.

Wind power has been Denmark and Europe's green strength. We are home to world-leading manufacturers, highly specialised subcontractors and a strong research environment. But new figures show that the balance of power is changing dramatically: China's three largest producers – Goldwind, Envision and Mingyang – together installed more than twice as much capacity as Vestas and other Western competitors in 2024.

Goldwind alone installed 20GW – twice as much as Vestas’ 10GW, and Vestas has fallen out of the global top three for the first time.

China’s price war

China’s rise is driven by a domestic market that installed 80GW of wind power in 2024 alone – 60% of the global expansion – while the market in the rest of the world fell by 9%.

Combined with massive state support, this means that Chinese turbines are sold 30-50% cheaper than European ones. And thanks to their state backing, they can offer more favourable payment terms.

But as DIIS researcher Luke Patey warns: The short-term savings could be costly in terms of lost jobs, strategic dependence and security risks.

No environmental and safety requirements protect onshore wind

Onshore wind is not just climate policy – it is also industrial policy and security.

In Denmark’s cross-party offshore wind agreement from the spring of 2025, we have made an agreement that environmental and safety requirements must be included in tenders, which can keep more unsafe Chinese solutions from entering the market.

But onshore wind remains open for Chinese OEMs, because many projects are built without tenders. This means that today there are not the same requirements for environment and safety in operation, software and remote access. And Chinese turbines thus have easier access.

Lithuania has introduced a ban on companies from countries that pose a security threat remotely controlling wind turbines. Denmark and other European countries should copy the model and require that operation and control systems for wind farms are under EU-based control.

The industry and value chain need proper framework conditions

At the same time, we lack transport infrastructure. Siemens Gamesa in Brande, Denmark, develops some of the world's most advanced prototypes, but cannot transport them across the country.

Together with tower manufacturer Welcon, the company is demanding a national transport corridor so that large components can be moved from the factory to assembly without expensive detours.

The entire Danish wind industry - from Niebuhr Gears to KK Wind Solutions - is woven together in a value chain where manufacturers, subcontractors and developers are mutually dependent on each other. They live off the fact that European wind turbines are sold, and that there is a symbiosis between design, production, testing and assembly.

Here, both a strong domestic market and good frameworks for exports play a crucial role. If we lose that connection, not only will production disappear, but also the collaborative relationships, innovation and technological leadership.

We must maintain and expand our wind industry

Denmark has one of the world's largest and most advanced wind industries - and thus a special responsibility for ensuring that the framework conditions in both the EU and here support continued growth, innovation and export.

We cannot outsource this responsibility to the EU alone. We must set the direction for green technology ourselves - and ensure that it is our companies that gain market share, instead of China squeezing out our own production.

First of all, we must ensure statutory safety requirements for all wind projects - not just in national tenders - with requirements for EU control of software, operation and remote access.

It could also make sense to discuss whether origin requirements should be imposed on central components in wind turbines such as generators and control systems, so that these come from manufacturers in the EU or allied countries.

Finally, we must ensure targeted industrial development - with a focus on supporting investments in development, test facilities and, not least, transport infrastructure.

From the Danish side, we should actively participate in European work to standardise wind turbine technology, so that European manufacturers can achieve lower production costs and stronger competitiveness, instead of competing for ever larger and more expensive models.

And then we must ensure that competition takes place on fair terms, so that imported turbines must come with state-subsidised dumping prices, while European producers bear all the costs of the EU's high environmental, labour and safety standards.

We must act now

The solar cell industry shows how quickly a large production and position of strength can disappear. Chinese producers have already taken the lead globally. If we want to avoid being as dependent on wind as on solar, we must create the framework for a strong Danish and European industry now.

It is cheaper to strengthen the industry today than to rebuild it once factories and skills have been closed. The wind over our fields can still carry the future of Danish and European industry - if, that is, we choose to hold on to it.