Wind turbines made by China are “a huge risk” in Europe: Beijing has the power to have energy supply as a form of “political pressure” and “economic war,” says German government report.
China today has a valuable geopolitical ally: the vento (or, more specifically, the wind turbines that manufacture and generate energy in Germany and other European countries).
Through these turbines, Beijing can exert political and economic pressure on European power, disturbing or remotely disabling the operation of turbines, delaying wind projects or even using them to collect sensitive data through control software if it obtained access to German critical infrastructures.
The warning comes from a report supported by the German government, prepared last month by the German Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies – an analysis commissioned by the German Ministry of Defense. The report, analyzed by Monday, warns that Chinese manufacturers, such as Ming Yang Smart Energy, have the power to Block the operations of wind parks or slow them down in four or five yearseventually, in collaboration with the Russia.
The big problem is the strong dependence European Chinese suppliers, not only in Germany. Several countries (such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Lithuania) have already seen public warnings or legal measures to restrict China’s hand in the provision of wind turbines due to the potential danger of cybers. German dependence on energy infrastructure is especially worrying, in particular the growing dependence on wind energy, which produced a third of the country’s electricity in 2023, warns the same report.
However, given the current political situation, and with Europe increasingly concerned with its security, “it may even be assumed that such a slowdown or even interruption would be deliberately used by China as a means of political pressure“It reads in the report. Allow China to manipulate the energy supply of a European power is a “Economic war instrument” Too valuable for Beijing and opens doors to the commitment of political stability, economic competitiveness and social cohesion of the country, warns the institute, at a time when Germany does not seem to be working to reduce this dependenceat least in the renewable energy sector.
Still in 2023, German project promoter Luxcara selected the Ming Yang Smart Energy to provide turbines for the wind farm offshore In the northwest of Germany, having already been warned of the dangers at the time.
“It’s a huge risk”warns the director general of the German Foundation for Offshore Wind Energy, Karina Würtz, who appeals to Berlin to advance with the application of EU cybersecurity laws, in particular 2023 directive NIS2.
The pressure to Chinese suppliers is not only due to security issues: the European Union has also been more aware of unjust quotas in the market, obtained through state subsidies. The European Commission has launched an investigation into projects supported by China in Bulgaria, France, Greece, Romania and Spain.
