Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 35 2021

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Siemens Gamesa to end selling

onshore turbines in China

CHINA SIEMENS Gamesa is to stop selling its onshore and it has still not realised a project there.
wind turbines directly in China and is consider- The focus in the company’s onshore wind
ing an exit from Russia and other markets, chief turbine business will be shifted more strongly
executive Andreas Nauen told German business to the core markets in northern Europe, the UK,
magazine Wirtschaftswoche. Germany, Australia and Brazil, where Nauen
He also warned that the company could raise sees great potential for the 5.X onshore platform.
prices by 3-5% because of the rising cost of steel. Siemens Gamesa had pinned its hopes on the
He said that Siemens Gamesa would continue platform, but Nauen admitted that the plan for its
to produce wind turbines in its factory in Tianjin, development and marketing was too ambitious.
north-eastern China, but they will be exported to In addition, the company, which is 67%
other markets such as Japan. owned by Siemens Energy AG, is raising prices
Nauen said that the Chinese market was no for new turbines by 3% to 5% to pass on rising
longer interesting for the Spain-based renewa- raw material costs, mainly for steel, Nauen said.
bles company. Its onshore wind business is struggling to
As well as China, the company is considering improve its financial performance, which has
a potential exit from Russia. been dented by troubles in the construction of
“The projects there are very risky because ... projects and higher raw material prices.
building a wind farm on land is only possible Siemens Gamesa has so far installed close to
for a few frost-free weeks a year,” he told the 9 GW of onshore turbines in China, Pakistan,
magazine. Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the
In Turkey, Siemens Gamesa will be much Philippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zea-
more cautious because tenders in the country land, the company said.™
oblige wind turbine makers to produce locally,

Longi Green Energy sees improving results

CHINA LONGI Green Energy Technology Co. saw ris- uncertainties and risks brought by the rigorous
ing profits and revenues in the first half of 2021 as international trade barriers and policies,” Longi
exports grew and output strengthened. said.
Net income rose 21% to CNY4.99bn Solar panel producers such as Longi have had
($771mn) in the first six months of 2021, with to contend with higher polysilicon costs. Panel
solar module production jumping by 149% year prices rose as much as 20% earlier in the year due
on year to 19.93 GW. to the spike in raw materials.
The company said its overseas operations This meant that Longi’s gross profit margin
account for almost half of revenue, up from 38% fell slightly to about 23%, the company said, add-
in the same period a year earlier ing that the shortages of raw materials, including
New markets emerging in India, Brazil and polysilicon, contributed to the company not pro-
Chile added to continued strong demand from ducing at full capacity in the first half, even as it
regions such as Europe, the US and Australia, the lifted output, the statement said.
Xi’an-based manufacturer said. The results have come as Longi is extending
The news comes as Chinese companies its global reach and moving into hydrogen.
have had to cope with the US ban on imports Longi said in August that it had set up a stand-
with links to a specific raw material supplier. alone unit for hydrogen-related equipment and
Many Chinese producers have had components aims to make this clean energy more affordable.
detained at US ports, Bloomberg reported. “There is no doubt that renewable energy
The US has put in place import barriers will help cut emissions. However, there are
because of allegations of human-rights abuses in some energy-intensive sectors like steel that
China’s Xinjiang region, a key source of polysili- cannot shift to renewable energy. That provides
con. Longi said that these trade problems added opportunities to the hydrogen sector,” said Wang
to the country’s business risk, although it did not Yinge, deputy general manager of the company.
say whether it had suffered any direct impact Longi Green Energy Technology raised
from the US policy. $2.4bn from a share offering in the first half of
“Although the company has taken measures 2021, as new investment in renewable energy
including deploying overseas production capac- reached $174bn in the first half of 2021, 1.8%
ity to avoid relevant trade barriers, there are still lower than in the first half of 2020.™

Week 35 01•September•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9