EU investigates Chinese companies' bids in Romanian solar tender

The European Union has launched an investigation into bids by Chinese companies to build a Romanian solar farm. It wants to examine whether Chinese bidders are benefiting excessively from state subsidies in their public tender bids. The European Commission said today.

The first company under investigation is a consortium comprising Romanian company ENEVO Group and a subsidiary of China's LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. The second investigation involves subsidiaries of Chinese state-owned company Shanghai Electric Group Co. According to EU officials, the total value of the contract for a 110-megawatt solar farm is around 375 million euros (9.5 billion CZK), and the farm is to be partly funded with EU money.

The Commission said an in-depth investigation was warranted because there were sufficient indications that Chinese companies had received foreign subsidies that distorted the EU single market. The Commission has until August 14 to make a decision.

„Solar panels have become strategically important for Europe: for our clean energy production, jobs in Europe and security of supply,“ said EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.

The aim of the investigation is to preserve Europe's economic security and competitiveness, he added.

The EU solar industry is struggling, even as a record number of solar panels are being installed in the region. Cheap Chinese imports are severely undermining the domestic manufacturing base. Nevertheless, the EU is weighing possible trade defence measures very cautiously, amid concerns that they could jeopardise the bloc's ambitious target of cutting emissions by 55 percent this decade.

Under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which has been in force since July 2023, companies are required to notify the EC of subsidies. The Commission must then assess whether the subsidies allow companies to submit overly advantageous bids, Reuters reported.

The EU investigation is the second of its kind under the subsidies regulation. In the first case, a Chinese company withdrew from a 610-million-euro Bulgarian railway tender after an investigation was launched.

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said it was seriously concerned about the in-depth investigations of Chinese companies under EU law. The way the regulation was framed discriminates against Chinese companies and undermines a level playing field for Chinese businesses operating in the EU, Bloomberg reported.