Siemens Gamesa invests €200 million in Le Havre to counter China

Siemens Gamesa announces a €200 million investment to expand its Le Havre factory. The goal: to produce longer and more powerful wind turbine blades to remain competitive against China, the global leader in the sector.

Share:

Gain full professional access to energynews.pro from 4.90$/month.
Designed for decision-makers, with no long-term commitment.

Over 30,000 articles published since 2021.
150 new market analyses every week to decode global energy trends.

Monthly Digital PRO PASS

Immediate Access
4.90$/month*

No commitment – cancel anytime, activation in 2 minutes.

*Special launch offer: 1st month at the indicated price, then 14.90 $/month, no long-term commitment.

Annual Digital PRO Pass

Full Annual Access
99$/year*

To access all of energynews.pro without any limits

*Introductory annual price for year one, automatically renewed at 149.00 $/year from the second year.

Siemens Gamesa’s factory in Le Havre is about to take a new step forward. With a €200 million investment, the site, inaugurated in 2022, will be expanded to produce longer and more efficient wind turbine blades. This initiative aims to strengthen France and Europe’s position in a growing market dominated by China.

Scaling up production

Currently, the factory produces 75- and 81-meter blades for 7 to 8 MW turbines, supplying several French offshore wind farms. With this expansion, production capacity will increase to 115-meter blades, designed for 14 MW turbines. This new generation of machines will feature a 236-meter rotor, further enhancing the competitiveness of the German-Spanish group in the global market.

Increasing competition from China

Siemens Gamesa faces growing pressure. In China, companies like Goldwind are already developing wind turbines of up to 18 MW, with some models in development reaching 22 MW. This race for power challenges European manufacturers to innovate to maintain their position in the global market.

Significant public support

The project benefits from substantial public funding, totaling €170 million, including €35 million from European funds, €80 million from local authorities, and €54 million in tax credits. French Energy Minister Marc Ferracci justified this support by emphasizing the need to strengthen European industry against what he described as “fierce and sometimes unfair competition.”

Toward a strengthened European industrial strategy

To support this momentum, France plans to introduce new criteria in offshore wind tenders. The goal is to favor equipment produced in Europe and France. These measures will be applied starting this year for Tender No. 9, with results expected by the end of 2025.

With 1.5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity as of September 2024, France aims for 18 GW by 2035 and 45 GW by 2050. In this context, the development of industrial sites like Le Havre is a strategic lever to achieve these objectives.

Envision Energy has signed an agreement to equip Kazakhstan’s largest wind power project, marking a strategic step in energy cooperation with TotalEnergies, Samruk-Energo and KazMunayGas.
The Swedish energy group aims to produce 9TWh per year with its Storlandet project, intended to meet rising demand from the mining and steel industries in the north of the country.
The two regional utilities join a JERA-led consortium to support the operation of the Ishikari Bay offshore wind farm, which entered service in early 2024.
Energy group Axpo is considering a new installation of three wind turbines in Wil, aimed at powering around 5,000 households and strengthening Switzerland's winter electricity production.
Encavis strengthens its wind portfolio in Germany with the acquisition of a Schierenberg project and the signing of four new partnerships with ABO Energy, for a joint total capacity of 106 MW.
Boralex rolls out an energy assistance scheme for residents near its wind and solar farms, with a pilot project launched in two communes in Haute-Loire.
Eiffage, through its Belgian subsidiary Smulders, will build three electrical substations to connect offshore wind farms in Brittany and the Mediterranean, under a contract exceeding €1.5bn ($1.59bn).
Envision Energy has published an environmental product declaration for two of its turbines, a milestone certified to ISO standards aimed at strengthening its position in international wind markets.
Yaway, a brand of Kallista Energy, commissions in Breteuil a very high-power charging station directly connected to wind turbines, offering a price of €0.30/kWh ($0.32/kWh) and a maximum power of 400 kW, with no subscription.
Fortescue has selected Envision Energy to supply next-generation turbines in Australia, the first step in a project targeting 2 to 3 GW of renewable generation backed by batteries.
Singapore-based developer Vena Energy has launched operations at its third wind power plant in Japan, located in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, with a grid-connected capacity of 7.5 MW.
Ørsted and Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN) have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore joint development of the 1.4 GW Incheon offshore wind project, located off South Korea’s west coast.
RWE has finalised the installation of all 72 monopiles at the 1.1 GW Thor offshore wind farm off the Danish coast, marking a key milestone ahead of secondary structure and turbine installation scheduled for 2026.
The Bundesnetzagentur awarded 376 projects totalling 3.45 GW, with a weighted average price of 6.57 cents per kilowatt-hour, without reducing the volume despite an undersubscription risk.
Alternergy strengthens its portfolio by acquiring two wind projects from CleanTech in Quezon Province, expanding its growth strategy beyond the 500MW mark.
Orsted has resumed work on its Revolution Wind offshore wind farm, previously halted by federal authorities, after a court ruling allowed construction to continue despite ongoing legal action from the U.S. government.
No candidate submitted a final offer for the 1 GW project off Oléron Island, despite an initial shortlist of nine consortiums including major European energy groups.
TotalEnergies and RWE secure the Centre Manche 2 contract, France’s largest offshore wind project to date, with an estimated investment of €4.5bn ($4.82bn).
A federal court authorises Ørsted to continue construction on its offshore wind farm Revolution Wind, halted by an administrative order in August, while the group secures DKK60bn to finance Sunrise Wind.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development leads an international financing structure to support the construction of a wind farm in Ras Ghareb, as part of Egypt’s national energy strategy.