By Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) — Off the coast of southern China, a giant, double-headed turbine rises out from among its conventional counterparts, held up by a spiderweb of steel cables and tethered to the seabed below via three bright-yellow mooring points.
The OceanX design pushes the boundaries of engineering, harnessing more wind power than any other floating turbine operating in the world today. It’s also an eloquent symbol of the ambitions of Chinese green technology companies, securing their dominance of yet another clean-energy industry as stalwarts in Europe, the US, and Japan run up against political and economic setbacks.
China, whose reliance on imports means energy security is always at the forefront of its mind, has led the world in using renewable electricity sources — including expansive solar farms in western deserts and rows of turbines built at sea, where they can access reliable and stronger air currents. This year, it will install nearly three out of every four of the world’s new offshore turbines, according to BloombergNEF.
The story is very different elsewhere, particularly in the US, where President Donald Trump has derided wind farms as ugly killers of birds and whales. He targeted wind on his first day in office, halting approvals for new offshore ventures. His administration stopped an almost-complete project, rattling investors and triggering a collapse in the share price of its Danish developer, Orsted A/S, a company that has led the sector for more than three decades since it commissioned the world’s first offshore wind farm.
Now, along with other operators in Europe, the US, and Japan, Orsted is struggling to cope with dwindling government support and costs that continue to push upward, thanks to pricier components, high interest rates, and limited infrastructure.
Mitsubishi Corp. dealt the latest blow on Wednesday, announcing that a group it led would withdraw from three offshore wind projects in Japan, citing tighter supply chains and rising costs since the projects were secured in 2021.
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