When Sinovel, the world’s second-largest producer of wind turbines, signed a series of multiyear supply contracts worth nearly $1bn with American Superconductor, a darling of the US clean energy sector, it seemed like a textbook case of how China’s clean energy push could create US jobs.
But just four years later, the two companies are locked in dispute. American Superconductor says the Chinese turbine maker – its biggest customer – has failed to pay for more than $50m of shipments received and has refused to accept further contracted shipments.
The soured business relationship underscores the cut-throat nature of a turbine manufacturing sector threatened by a looming global slowdown. China is now the world’s largest producer of turbines and solar panels, and Chinese companies are starting to compete with their western peers for deals on their home turf.