Inside China's Role in the UK's Renewables Supply Chain
As an island nation with blustery conditions, the UK is ideally positioned to leverage wind energy. In fact, the government is dead set on positioning the country as a global leader in wind power.
The shift to renewable energy is receiving significant support, catalysed by the Labour government's lifting of restrictions on onshore wind projects – impeded by the previous Conservative administration.
Expanding wind energy capacities
Current objectives set by the UK Government aim to double onshore wind capacity to 30 GW and increase offshore capacity to a staggering 50 GW by 2030.
However, reaching such targets within five years poses notable challenges, requiring increased process efficiency and substantial investment.
Constructing and operationalising offshore wind farms is notably time-intensive, often extending beyond a decade due to numerous factors including extensive planning and the need for robust grid infrastructure. In an encouraging development, Great British Energy, operational since 2024, has collaborated with the Crown Estate for leasing seabeds essential for wind farm setups.
Scottish Power, another key player, has sealed a US$1bn arrangement with Siemens Gamesa. This partnership notably focuses on producing turbine blades at a factory in Hull for the East Anglia TWO wind farm.
According to Keith Anderson, CEO at Scottish Power, this project is set to significantly bolster the nation’s supply chain, thereby elevating the UK’s capacity to host such large-scale operations.
Darren Davidson, UK Head of Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa, echoed similar sentiments, calling the deal a “magnificent order” and suggesting the factory will catalyse economic growth and boost green job opportunities regionally.
And yet, despite these noteworthy domestic advancements, the shadow of international cooperation looms large – particularly interactions with China, a titan in the global wind power arena.
The great debate: Partnering with China
China’s supremacy in wind power manufacturing, supported by hefty investment and governmental subsidies, poses both an opportunity and a competition.
In 2023, China was responsible for fabricating two-thirds of the world's turbines, driven by about US$100bn investments and considerable state support.
This robust backing has rendered Chinese firms like Goldwind capable of delivering products at costs tough for Western firms to compete with.
“China is leading against all of its competitors when it comes to green technology,” explains Li Shuo, Director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Policy Institute. “China has a real advantage and has established a huge green industry.”
However, this industry dominance has sparked considerable controversy, with allegations around unfair subsidies providing Chinese manufacturers a skewed advantage, prompting the European Commission to investigate potential anti-trust violations.
Environmental concerns also mar the discussions around China's coal dependency for turbine manufacturing, which significantly dilutes the ‘green’ aspect of its wind power efforts.
Mutual growth through partnership
Amid discussion around the pros and cons of the UK establishing deeper ties with China, it's important to acknowledge longstanding collaborations in wind energy.
Since a 2013 Memorandum of Understanding, the two nations have embarked on numerous strategic ventures. For instance, Oxford’s Anakata Wind Power has innovated with aerodynamic enhancements for Chinese turbines, purportedly enhancing energy output by up to 10%.
Ben Wood, CEO of Anakata Wind Power, adds: "Anakata is now successfully accessing the Chinese wind energy rotor blade retrofitting market for its innovative aerodynamic add-ons as a direct result of all the hard work of Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Innovate UK and the TUS-ORE Catapult Research Centre.
“Without their help, support and bridge-building with the ideal Chinese partner companies, this would have been a near impossibility.”
Investments have flowed both ways, with Chinese capital significantly contributing to UK-based projects like the Beatrice offshore wind farm and the Green Volt project.
Notwithstanding these achievements, voices like former SNP MP Stewart McDonald caution against over-reliance on Chinese imports, stressing the strategic risk in critical energy sectors amid broader geopolitical tensions.
Conversely, stakeholders like Jonathan Cole of Corio Generation argue that excluding China might undermine the UK’s energy transition by exacerbating component shortages and inflating costs.
He emphasises: “If we extract China from the supply chain, what we’re actually going to do is delay the energy transition and make it more expensive. And that’s not in our national interest.”
The narrative surrounding wind energy in the UK is indeed a tale of ambitious national goals intertwined with complex, and at times contentious, international dynamics. Striking the optimum balance between nurturing domestic capabilities and engaging with global powerhouses like China will crucially shape its renewable energy landscape.
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