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UK Security Services participates in a review of the role of growth in China’s energy systems in the UK’s energy systems amid concerns about Beijing’s impact on strategic national infrastructure.
MI5 will help establish some degree of the possibility that the use of Chinese technologies, such as solar panels and industrial batteries, poses potential future security threats, according to people close to the situation.
Concerns about Chinese companies’ control of international supply chains for technology essential to decarbonisation is growing as the UK moves away from fossil fuels.
It raised concerns in Whitehall about the possibility that sensitive data could be shared with the Chinese government and the country’s potential management of strategic energy assets.
A review of China’s growing role in the energy system is part of a broader “audit” of government’s UK-China relations, which we report later this year.
“The spooks are watching that,” one official said. “It’s tied to industrial strategy, looking at where we are getting it from and general questions about security risks.”
MI5 Director Ken McCallum said in October that the National Security Bureau (a branch of national security services responsible for technical threat monitoring) will give supply chain security a long-term “focus” I stated.
This week, MPs collided in the House of Representatives over a proposal by privately owned Chinese company Mingyan to supply wind turbines for a planned floating offshore wind project in Scottish waters called Greenbolt. .
China’s largest floating offshore wind company is privately owned, but critics fear there is a risk of interference from Beijing in corporate decision-making.
Energy Minister Kelly McCarthy told MPS Wednesday: . . It takes into account national security considerations. ”
Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie said that if a Chinese-made turbine was installed at a British Wind Farm, “it is unthinkable to ignore the security impact.”
The Sun reported this week that the Department of Defense raised concerns that Green Bolts could be used for spy sensors.
“Security experts warn that sensors can spy on the layout of the UK’s oceans, defense submarine programs and energy infrastructure,” Bowie said.
“We will rely on Chinese equipment and software, as well as Chinese suppliers for updates and maintenance, and will pass Beijing a great opportunity for interference.”
The UK’s “China Audit” is led by foreign, federal and development offices with opinions from other departments.
The government is attempting to walk the tightrope between practical economic ties with Beijing and protecting against security threats.
Labour has stepped up diplomatic involvement, with senior ministers visiting mainland China for the past few months, and Prime Minister Kiel is about to visit later this year.
However, last fall, the minister used national security and investment laws to order Chinese investors to sell the majority stake in the UK semiconductor company.
The developers of Greenbolt – Norway – Italian-owned Valgron and Japanese flotation energy – have denied that they still choose Mingyan to provide turbines.
Greenbolt said it will “identify supply chain partners to help build wind farms.” “We have not yet confirmed turbine suppliers for the green bolts. We will comply with government regulations and guidance regarding the security of critical national infrastructure in all supplier choices.”
Mingyang said that if the suppliers and the Treasury are understood to support the scheme, it will open a turbine manufacturing plant in Scotland. “(Prime Minister) Rachel Reeves has returned from a recent trip to China, where he is really enthusiastic about the project,” said one government figure.
The UK government wants to decarbonize the UK’s electricity sector by 2030, requiring a significant increase in wind turbines, solar panels and batteries.
In particular, authorities are understood to be more concerned about the “primary control system” used to extend the angle of the blade and point it towards the wind.
The Greenbolt situation exemplifies the UK’s inconsistent approach to China in sensitive industries in recent years.
The UK government forced state-owned Chinese nuclear company CGN to sell shares in the proposed new power plant at Suffolk Sizewell C, but the group still engaged in Consortium Building Hinkley Point C in Somerset I’m doing it.
Bowie said it was “concern” that the Treasury Department appears to have decided to give Mingyan a green light.
“This green revolution comes with a label called ‘Made in China’,” he said. “China control technology embedded in our critical energy infrastructure is clearly a threat to our security.”
The government said it is implementing a “tough process” to investigate China’s role in the UK supply chain and investment in critical infrastructure. “We will never try to get out of the way of national security. We will not comment on individual cases, but investment in the energy sector is subject to the highest level of national security scrutiny.”
Even if the UK’s role in wind farms is currently relatively small, attempts to significantly reduce China’s involvement in the UK’s renewable energy supply chain are China’s dominant advantage in global battery and solar panel supply When you think about sex, there are problems.
“There’s a fear that we can see the Huawei moment,” one government figure noted the government’s decision to remove Chinese company Huawei from the UK’s 5G network.
“The renewable energy market is almost entirely dependent on supply from China.”
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