German wind turbine producer Nordex seeks state support – report

Wind turbine manufacturer Nordex might be seeking help from the German government to cover losses in earnings due to declining orders and supply chain difficulties amid the coronavirus pandemic, the public broadcaster NDR reports. According to the report, Nordex will seek guarantees worth 350 million euros. The company has recently announced an expansion of its production capacities due to an increase in the volume of firm orders and in late July it also secured a large order of over 40 turbines from Colombia, Recharge News reports. The financial support for the company could partially come from Germany's federal government and from the federal states of Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the report said.

The strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic put on Germany's wind power industry adds to severe challenges companies have faced in the country in recent years due to a steep decline in onshore wind power expansion in their home market. Expansion rates have slightly picked up again in the first half of 2020 but fears remain that the German wind industry faces a fate similar to that of the country's solar panel producers, most of which succumbed to Asian competitors after 2010.