Drone Scandal Exposes Wind Energy’s China Crisis

Chinese-made drones disguised as wind turbine parts were intercepted in Italy, sparking debate on China's role in the global wind energy market. Allen, Phil, and Joel explore how European manufacturers like Vestas and Siemens Gamesa can compete against subsidized Chinese firms such as Goldwind and Mingyang. Do EU protectionist policies address China's growing influence in renewable energy? In other news, Statkraft has reduced its target for renewables, the UK has lifted their onshore wind ban, Archer is moving into the offshore wind industry, and Louisiana is installing their first wind turbine. Visit AMI's website to book a spot at the Wind Turbine Blades conference! Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I'm Allen Hall, and I'll be bringing you this week's top stories in the wind energy sector. We start with a significant announcement from Statkraft, the Norwegian energy giant. The company has revealed plans to reduce its target for building solar PV, battery energy storage systems and wind farms from 2026 onwards. Statkraft is adjusting its development rate for solar, battery and onshore wind from two and a half to three gigawatts to two and a half gigawatts. Even more notably, their offshore wind targets have been cut from 10 gigawatts to 68 gigawatts by 2040. This shift comes as Statcraft aims to prioritize investments in its home country of Norway. The company cites challenging market conditions for the entire renewable energy industry as a reason for this strategic adjustment. Despite these reductions, Stackraft remains committed to expanding its hydropower capabilities with plans to initiate at least five major capacity upgrade projects in Norway by 2030. Moving to England, the de facto ban on onshore wind development has been lifted with immediate effect. This decision is part of a broader commitment to double the capacity of onshore wind in Britain by 2030. and boost energy independence. The policy change places onshore wind on equal footing with other energy development in the National Planning Policy Framework. This move is expected to significantly accelerate the growth of onshore wind in England.