Story by Matt Oliver
Chinese “kill switches” have been found hidden in American solar farms, prompting calls for Ed Miliband to halt the rollout of renewables.
On Thursday, the Energy Secretary was urged to impose an “immediate pause” on his green energy blitz to review whether UK solar plants are also at risk.
The components found in the US included cellular radios capable of switching off the equipment remotely, raising serious concerns about grid security, according to Reuters.
They were found inside power inverters manufactured by unnamed Chinese companies.
Power inverters are the key links between solar or wind farms and the rest of the power system, converting their electricity so the wider grid can use it.
One source told Reuters that compromising such equipment would give Beijing the ability to inflict blackouts on the West, claiming it would create “a built-in way to physically destroy the grid”.
China has dismissed the claims as a smear. But the discovery has sounded alarm bells within the US government and is likely to prompt a similar scramble in Britain.
Andrew Bowie, the shadow energy minister, on Thursday said the “worrying revelations” should spark serious concern for Mr Miliband and called for an urgent investigation.
He said: “We were already aware of concerns being raised by the Ministry of Defence and the security and intelligence services surrounding possible monitoring technology on Chinese-built wind turbines – but given the dominance of China in solar, these developments are equally if not even more worrying.
“Ed Miliband’s Made in China transition – clean power at the expense of everything else – is a threat to our national security and makes a mockery of his claims on energy security.
“It is essential that an immediate pause and review is carried out to ensure the safety and security of our energy system.”
One industry source on Thursday said that British solar farms used inverters from a variety of sources, including Chinese, American, German and Israeli suppliers.
A UK government spokesman said: “We would never let anything get in the way of our national security, and while we would not comment on individual cases, our energy sector is subject to the highest levels of national security scrutiny.”
Chris Hewett, chief executive of Solar Energy UK, a trade association, said: “If any of these inverters are present in the UK, which has not yet been established – and if the allegations prove true – they could be replaced rapidly.
“It should also be stressed that solar energy is helping to wean the UK off reliance on fossil fuels from unstable regimes, improving our energy security and lowering costs.”
China’s solar power push
Chinese companies dominate the market for power inverters, as well as batteries and solar panels, with their equipment widely used around the world.
That had prompted concerns in some quarters, with China’s involvement in UK energy infrastructure already under scrutiny.
According to research by Wood Mackenzie, Chinese firms account for half of all solar power inverters in the world.
Two companies, Huawei and Sungrow, together controlled more than half of the market in 2023.
The European Solar Manufacturing Council estimates that more than 200 gigawatts (GW) of European solar power capacity relies on inverters made in China – the equivalent of 200 nuclear power plants.
“This means Europe has effectively surrendered remote control of a vast portion of its electricity infrastructure,” said Christoph Podewils, the industry group’s secretary general.
Being able to control just 3GW to 4GW of capacity has the potential to wreak havoc across the Continent.
The recent blackouts in Spain and Portugal are thought to have begun following the loss of just 2GW of generation capacity.
Philipp Schroeder, chief executive of German solar developer 1Komma5, told Reuters: “Ten years ago, if you switched off the Chinese inverters, it would not have caused a dramatic thing to happen to European grids, but now the critical mass is much larger.”
Chinese-made inverters in the US were switched off remotely in November, Reuters said, prompting a row between a Texas-based company and its supplier, Zhejiang-based Deye.
It is not clear whether that incident was related to the discovery of hidden parts and there was no suggestion of wrongdoing by Deye.
The US department of energy was aware of both issues but had not previously disclosed them publicly.
A spokesman said the revelations did not necessarily suggest “malicious intent”, but added: “It is critical for those procuring to have a full understanding of the capabilities of the products received.”
Utility firms in the US are now said to be bracing for a ban on Chinese-made equipment in grid infrastructure, echoing restrictions previously imposed on telecoms equipment manufactured by Huawei over spying concerns.
Huawei has always denied it poses a security threat.
Earlier this year, Ministry of Defence officials were revealed to have also flagged concerns about a Chinese firm, Mingyang Smart Energy, which has been contracted to provide turbines to the Green Volt wind farm off the coast of Scotland.
The deal would give Chinese engineers “a legitimate excuse to visit at any time” for maintenance, officials said, prompting fears they could use the access to install devices used to spy on Britain or tamper with equipment.