They break down the EU’s dual approach: a restrained position driven by cybersecurity concerns around semiconductors (where China dominates supply), lessons from past energy dependencies, and new legislation including the Net Zero Industry Act and Cybersecurity Act 2 aimed at building resilience and limiting over-reliance on third countries.

The conversation then examines China’s motivations, including a saturated domestic market with low profit margins, aggressive international expansion efforts, and advantages in cost, scale, and turbine size. James and Chris explore barriers such as the UK rejection of MingYang’s factory plans, varying openness in countries like Spain and Poland, successful deployments in Italy, and the tension between cybersecurity risks, protectionism, and the EU’s ambitious 300 GW offshore wind target by 2050, as well as the likely path of managed integration through strict regulations, local content rules, and developer input to balance energy goals with industrial and security priorities.

They discuss Australia’s first major offshore wind auction, now relaunched for August 2026 after last year’s postponement. Aruneesh covers the key challenges that caused the delay, improvements to the offtake mechanism through the Electricity Services Entry Mechanism (ESCM), port infrastructure bottlenecks at Hastings, and strong interest from major developers in the Gippsland region.

The conversation then shifts to France, where the newly released PPE3 adjusts offshore wind targets to 15 GW by 2035 (with 18 GW now by 2037). They examine the merging of Auctions 9 and 10 into a large ~10 GW tender (split between fixed and floating), grid flexibility measures, the EolMed project, and new European supply chain localisation requirements.