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A firm belief in the glorious future of China's wind energy market has prompted Danish windmill giant Vestas to invest heavily in the Middle Kingdom. A boom in 2007 lifted China to a position as the second-largest wind energy market in the world after the United States, with a total Chinese wind energy production of 3,287 megawatts (MW).
"The Chinese government plays a big part in this development. We fully expect Chinese authorities to continue their visionary policies in the wind energy field", says Lars Andersen, CEO of Vestas China. "There are several reasons why Vestas chooses to invest so much in China, but the most important is the maturity and robustness shown by the Chinese market in the last few years. This development guarantees continued success in China."
But the booming wind energy market has also meant a drastic increase in local competition. In 2007 Vestas profits took a slapping from Chinese rivals such as Goldwind, and this year puts the total number of locally registered wind turbine producers at no less than 40. Add to that a newly proclaimed Beijing government initiative to begin subsidizing wind energy companies with a Chinese ownership majority, and China's wind market begins to look very tough. But Lars Andersen and Vestas remains confident that Chinese authorities will continue to build the policy structures needed to propel the country's wind energy market in the right direction:
"These Chinese companies are creating one of the world's largest wind energy markets and at the same time contribute to solving some of China's biggest problems concerning the environment and the national dependency on fossil fuels", says Mr. Andersen. "We're confident that this work will continue within the framework of balanced market forces focusing on healthy competition between all industrial players on the Chinese market."
Full story in Danish
News category: Denmark
Published on this site: Sep. 3, 2008
Source:borsen.dk
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