The boss of one of Europe’s biggest wind turbine makers has called for “non-western” rivals to be blocked from selling in the EU in a warning about the perceived threat posed by Chinese technology to the bloc’s security and industrial future.
José Luis Blanco, chief executive of Hamburg-based Nordex, said the EU had not gone far enough with proposed regulations requiring projects that receive public support to use equipment made in the bloc and exclude “high-risk” suppliers. Many renewables projects fell outside the rules, he said.
“We believe the western-origin principle should therefore apply to all new wind capacity connecting to European grids, not only publicly supported projects,” Blanco told the FT, adding that “non-western” turbine makers should be designated as high risk under cyber security rules.