Government budget cuts will slow growth in the European wind power industry this year, but surging demand from China is helping advance the global push behind green energy, according to the world’s biggest wind turbine maker.
全球最大的风力涡轮机制造商表示，政府预算削减将会减缓欧洲风电行业今年的增长速度，但中国需求的激增，正推动全球绿色能源继续前行。
Ditlev Engel, chief executive of Vestas Wind Systems, said austerity measures in European countries were limiting government support for wind projects.
维斯塔斯风力系统(Vestas Wind Systems)首席执行官迪特列•英格(Ditlev Engel)表示，欧洲国家的紧缩举措限制了政府对风电项目的支持。
“The green agenda is still moving forward, but it is clear that in Europe it has become more challenging because of fiscal constraints,” he told the Financial Times.
他告诉英国《金融时报》：“绿色议程仍在向前推进，但很明显，由于财政紧缩，这在欧洲已变得更具挑战性。”
Growth in new wind energy installations in Europe is forecast to shrink from 14 per cent in 2010 to 1 per cent this year, according to analysts at Citigroup.
花旗集团(Citigroup)分析师预测，欧洲新风电装置的增幅将从2010年的14%，降至今年的1%。
The company’s share price has declined nearly 44 per cent over the past 12 months amid concern over the European outlook and intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers such as Sinovel and Goldwind as well as western rivals including General Electric and Siemens.
由于市场对欧洲前景的担忧，以及来自中西方制造商（中国有华锐风电(Sinovel)、金丰科技(Goldwind)；西方有通用电气(General Electric)和西门子(Siemens)）的竞争日益加剧，过去12个月，维斯塔斯股价累计下跌近44%。
The slowdown helps explain the recent decision by Vestas to cut 3,000 jobs – about 13 per cent of its workforce – with the closure of four production facilities in its high-cost home country of Denmark and another in Sweden.
增长放缓有助于人们理解维斯塔斯最近做出的决定：关闭在成本高昂的祖国丹麦的4家生产工厂及瑞典的一家工厂，并裁员3000人（约占其员工总数的13%）。
“We had surplus capacity so we needed to look at where it is cheapest to manufacture,” said Mr Engel. “Even if you have to deliver turbines to Scandinavia, it is still cheaper to manufacture in Spain than in Denmark and Sweden.”
英格表示：“我们已经产能过剩，所以，我们需要考虑哪里的生产成本最低。即使你必须将涡轮机送到斯堪的纳维亚，在西班牙生产，仍比在丹麦和瑞典便宜。”
The cuts, announced in October, were part of broader efforts by Vestas to increase competitiveness amid rising component costs and increasing pressure from China’s fast-growing wind turbine industry.
面对日益高企的零部件成本，以及来自中国迅速增长的风力涡轮机行业不断加大的压力，维斯塔斯正努力提高竞争力。去年10月份宣布的裁员撤厂，是更广泛措施的一部分。
“If you can make a turbine in Asia and deliver it to Europe at a comparable price to making it in Europe, we have a problem,” said Mr Engel. “So we have to make sure we can always compete with what we call ‘Asia plus freight’.”
英格表示：“如果你在亚洲制造涡轮机、并将它运送至欧洲的价钱，能够与在欧洲制造不相上下，那我们就麻烦了。所以，我们必须确保，自己永远能够与我们所说的‘亚洲价格加运费’竞争。”
Vestas has invested heavily in US and Chinese production facilities in a bid to broaden its geographic reach but remained dependent on Europe for about half its orders last year.
维斯塔斯投入了巨额资金，在美国与中国兴建生产厂，以扩大自身的地理覆盖面。但去年，该公司仍有大约半数的订单依赖欧洲。
Vestas warned in November that, while 2010 was set to finish stronger than previously expected, revenues and profits were likely to be flat this year.
维斯塔斯去年11月份警告称，尽管2010年的业绩肯定要超出预期水平，但2011年的收入与利润可能会持平。
Gamesa of Spain also lowered its sales forecast for 2011, while banks including Barclays Capital and HSBC have downgraded growth estimates for the sector.
西班牙加美萨公司(GAMESA)也调低了2011年销售预期，巴克莱资本(Barclays Capital)与汇丰银行(HSBC)等银行也下调了对该行业的增长预期。
In addition to fiscal constraints in Europe, demand for wind turbines has been hurt by lower fossil fuel prices and credit scarcity since the financial crisis. Reduced political momentum behind efforts to tackle climate change has been another negative factor.
除了欧洲的财政紧缩，化石燃料价格下跌以及金融危机以来的信贷匮乏，也影响了对风力涡轮机的需求。而应对气候变化努力背后政治推动力的减弱，也是一个负面因素。
However, Mr Engel insisted the world would continue looking to wind as an alternative to fossil fuels in the long term and highlighted China among the strongest sources of growth. Vestas achieved record Chinese orders last year as the government poured tens of billions of dollars into green technology. “We have lost market share in China to local competition yet our sales are still growing because the market is expanding so strongly,” said Mr Engel.
然而英格坚称，长期来看，世界将继续把风能作为化石燃料的替代品，并强调指出，中国将是最强大的增长源头之一。由于中国政府向绿色技术投入数百亿美元，维斯塔斯去年获得了创记录的中国订单。英格表示：“我们在中国的市场份额被本土竞争对手抢走了一些，但我们的销售仍在增长，这是因为中国市场发展得极其迅猛。”
Chinese wind power capacity has grown from 6,050 megawatts in 2007 to an estimated 43,853MW last year, surpassing the US for the first time, according to Citigroup. It is forecast to more than double by 2013.
花旗集团的数据显示，中国风力发电装机容量已从2007年的6050兆瓦，增至了去年的约43853兆瓦，首次超越了美国。预计到2013年还将增长一倍以上。
Mr Engel said technological innovation was the key to staying ahead of competition, noting the company’s research and development workforce had increased from 300 when he took charge in 2005 to more than 2,000 today. “We are at the end of the beginning in this industry. From here, it’s going to be driven by technology.”
英格表示，技术创新是在竞争中保持领先地位的关键，他指出，维斯塔斯研发队伍的规模，已从自己2005年接手公司时的300人，增至目前的2000多人。“这个行业的起步阶段即将结束。从现在开始，技术将会是主要的推动力。”
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