Hogan Lovell OffshoreBook 2023 230809 OnlinePDF - Flipbook - Page 64
64
7. OTHER
7.1 Local rules and policies
When planning and building offshore wind
power projects in China, special consideration needs to be given to the local rules and
policies in the province where the project is
located.
7.2 Local content requirement
There are no localisation requirements with
respect to the investment in offshore wind
power projects as well as the procurement
of wind power equipment in China.
As illustrated above in section 1.1, 100%
foreign ownership of wind power projects
is permitted. With respect to the utilisation of wind power equipment, China used
to implement in the past a local content
requirement which imposed a minimum
local content of 70% in terms of domestically manufactured equipment, according
to a document issued in 2005 by the NDRC,
specifying that a wind power plant failing
to fulfil this requirement was not allowed
to be constructed. However, this restriction
was finally cancelled by the NDRC in 2009.
On 23 December 2010, the NDRC issued
the Circular on Promoting the Healthy and
Orderly Development of the Wind Power
Equipment Industry, explicitly providing that
the bidding and procurement of wind power
equipment must be carried out in strict
accordance with the Tendering and Bidding
Law of the People’s Republic of China and
related regulations and exclusive conditions
cannot be set.
China
7.3 EHS requirement
In addition to the laws and regulations specifically applicable to wind power projects
(such as the Wind Power Interim Measures,
Offshore Wind Power Measures, etc.), the
general regulations on environmental protection and safety (such as the Regulations
on Administration of Construction Safety
and the Marine Environmental Protection
Law), applicable to any construction projects, should also be paid attention to.
7.4 Potential market risks for offshore
wind power project development
The installation of offshore wind power
projects in China declined substantially in
2022 compared to 2021. Project developers
and investors were rushing to commission their projects before the end of 2021
because the central government would not
make subsidies available to newly installed
offshore wind power projects after that time
(except for the existing offshore wind power
projects which have obtained the required project approvals and for which grid
connection has been completed prior to 31
December 2021). However, the availability
of provincial subsidies and the wind turbine
and plant upsizing provide opportunities of
cost-saving and potential efficiencies, and
it is reported that there is an expectation
that the installation of offshore wind power
capacity will rebound in 2023.
On the procurement side, as China dropped
its "zero-COVID" policy and the COVID-19
pandemic is no longer a global concern, issues around the shortage of key parts such as
blades and main bearings that rely on over
