New Chinese breakthrough as European wind farm lines up massive onshore turbines
Windey named preferred supplier with 7.7MW machines for 854MW Maestrale Ring project in Serbia
A Serbian group has lined up some of the most powerful onshore wind turbines planned for deployment in Europe so far in a major new breakthrough for Chinese manufacturers in the European market.
Developer Fintel Energia named Chinese OEM Zhejiang Windey as preferred supplier of 7.7MW turbines to its 854MW Maestrale Ring project in Serbia.
Windey has previously been selected to supply smaller turbines for Fintel’s Serbian portfolio, but the scale of the deal and the machines involved marks a major new inroad for the company and Chinese sector in the European market.
Windey – which claims a 40-year history in wind technology with roots in the Zhejiang Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering – has made no secret of its plans to expand internationally, after emerging as a key player in its home market alongside peers such as Goldwind, Envision and Mingyang. The Chinese group launched a 7MW turbine platform in 2021.
The company will set up a service operation in Belgrade to fulfil a 10-year agreement that would accompany the finalised supply deal.,
Chinese OEMs have already started making inroads into European onshore markets, and especially in Central Asia on Europe’s doorstep helped by keen pricing and readily available finance.
European developers and loss-making equipment manufacturers have made increasingly urgent appeals to the EU and national governments to help shore up their positions or risk seeing projects being equipped with Chinese turbines across the continent.