China's offshore wind sector gears up for life after subsidies

Analysts say the domestic sector will continue to ride the updraft

Offshore turbine companies make use of the powerful and generally more consistent winds that blow far from land. (Photo from China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s social media feed)

YOU XIAOYING and ZHAO XUAN, Caixin

August 31, 2023 08:42 JST

A controversial decision to cease granting national-level subsidies for offshore wind power projects is unlikely to arrest the industry's rapid growth, with experts expecting the domestic sector to continue its upward trend.

But individual firms are facing significant turbulence as they prepare to fight for local government contracts -- with a number of projects already collapsing after they quoted unrealistically low prices per kilowatt-hour in order to win bids.