Offshore wind farm developer Orsted has no Chinese turbines in its current project pipeline, its CEO said on Thursday, but did not rule out buying turbines or technology from China in the future.
The European wind turbine market is dominated by local players such as Vestas and Siemens Gamesa, but Chinese turbine makers have built momentum in the region in recent months, adding to concern in the EU industry that it faces an existential threat.
Last week China's Mingyang Smart Energy signed an agreement to set up a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Italy, while German utility EnBW said it was considering whether to use Chinese turbines for future projects.
Orsted CEO Mads Nipper said on a media call the group has followed "with interest" the developments in Italy and Germany, and ruled out "absolutely nothing" in its supply chain.
But while Orsted is already using Chinese components and steel for its projects, it has no Chinese turbines in its current pipeline, he said.
"I've previously said I think it is unlikely that (Chinese turbines) would become an integrated part of Western infrastructure. But that doesn't change our perspective that we have been and are following all technologies across."
Nipper spoke after the company booked surprise impairment losses in the second quarter, sending its shares down more than 9%.
In April, the EU said it would investigate subsidies received by Chinese suppliers of wind turbines destined for Europe, a move aimed at protecting domestic firms from cheap clean tech products.
Nipper said the company was taking into consideration the regulatory risks of something unexpected happening "that could make this more troublesome".
(Reuters - Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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