The domestic market is saturated and companies take advantage of expertise to boost exports, but run into local problems
Chinese wind turbine manufacturers are experiencing a strong increase in exports, but still face significant challenges in adapting to local market demands and complex investment scenarios, an industry executive said.
Huang Hu, vice president of wind turbine and equipment product platform, told in a recent interview that selling wind turbines abroad tests a company’s ability to manage the construction of wind farms, respond to customer needs and meet technical requirements.
In the first 3 quarters of 2025, Envision Energy secured more than 9 GW (gigawatts) in new orders abroad, representing more than 40% of total international orders won by Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, according to company data.
The international expansion of Chinese wind turbine companies has intensified. In 2024, 5 Chinese manufacturers exported wind turbines to 23 countries. Envision Energy’s exports reached 2.28 GW, a 40% increase from the previous year, placing it in 2nd place behind its Chinese competitor, according to data from the Chinese Renewable Energy Association.
The new projects signed by Envision Energy for 2025 are concentrated in regions such as Central Asia, North Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia.
This export expansion comes as Chinese wind turbine manufacturers seek new markets abroad in the face of domestic overcapacity, testing whether their cost advantages can translate into global market dominance amid differing technical standards and political pressures.
Despite export growth, there are several challenges facing Chinese wind turbine companies with internationalization plans. A crucial obstacle is that investors behind many wind projects in emerging markets are often from Europe and the US, Huang noted.
“The majority of wind energy projects in Central Asia, North Africa and Southeast Asia still have the support of investment entities from Europe and the USA, which influence the final result of the projects”he stated, saying this means Chinese companies expanding in these markets need to align with Western systems.
Technical standards also vary greatly between nations. “Each country has different wind resources, infrastructure, supply chains, political environments and technical standards”disse Huang.
He explained that countries such as France, Japan and Egypt have strict noise restrictions that require highly customized products, while Australia’s strict bird protection regulations require specially developed devices.
Disparities in the power grid are another critical challenge. “Unlike China, which has an extremely powerful grid, the Philippines is an island country with an isolated grid. This forces wind energy companies to relearn how to ensure grid stability and rapid response”declared Huang.
Additionally, many countries require local assembly, manufacturing, R&D centers and operational services, which forces Chinese companies to develop comprehensive supply chain plans, according to Huang.
To meet these demands, Envision Energy has established more than 20 global operations and R&D centers and announced a plan earlier this year to build a production base in Kazakhstan.
Despite the challenges, Chinese wind turbine manufacturers have advantages in their industrial chain and services. Huang said more than 70% of supply for European wind turbine manufacturers comes from China.
In addition to manufacturing, quick service response has become a key strength for Chinese companies, which Huang says are more competitive across the entire product lifecycle compared to competing European chains with higher labor costs.
This report was originally in English by Caixin Global on November 14, 2025. It was translated and republished by Poder360 under mutual content sharing agreement.
