China's Ming Yang plans to build a factory in Europe after UK wind turbines are snubbed

Ming Yang Smart Energy, a Chinese wind turbine manufacturer, is looking at European locations including Spain to build a new manufacturing facility. This comes after the UK Government effectively blocked their plans for a Scottish location.

In March, Britain announced that it would not support the use of Ming Yang wind turbines for offshore projects in the country due to security concerns. This led the company to suspend plans for a 2-billion-pound factory worth 1.5 billion pounds.

Horatio Evers is the CEO of Ming Yang Europe. He said, "We are committed to manufacturing our technology in Europe using a European workforce."

Ming Yang has had discussions with Spain's government, and he is also considering other locations.

He added, "We would invest in a factory if we had the assurance that our turbines were eligible for the market."

Use of Chinese renewable technologies in Europe is a controversial issue. In 2024, the European Commission began a review of Chinese manufacturers due to concerns that cheaper imports could threaten European competitiveness. The findings have not yet been published.

Security concerns have also been raised over the use of Chinese technology in a critical part of Europe's infrastructure. The wind projects include electronics and sensors that collect data, and they could be targeted by cyberattacks.

Evers said the turbines were safe.

He said: "We have an established and robust regulatory and cybersecurity framework, and our setup is fully aligned to EU requirements."

"There is no danger to energy systems." Ming Yang or any third party cannot remotely shut down the wind farms we deliver on the European market. Turbines can't be used to "disrupt grids", he said.

Recently, the Commission?recommended that EU funds be restricted for projects using power inverters from "high risk suppliers" which connect renewable projects with the energy grid. This category includes China.

Evers has not commented on the recommendation.

(source: Reuters)