Recently, the United States has warned the British government that the Chinese wind power giant, MingYang Smart Energy Group, is planning to invest in building facilities in Scotland and participate in crucial offshore wind projects, posing a serious threat to national security.
Experts point out that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could potentially use its control over energy facilities for monitoring and infiltration, with technical vulnerabilities and backdoor mechanisms posing a “digital time bomb.” This incident has once again raised high alertness among Western countries regarding their energy dependence on China.
MingYang Smart Energy Group, headquartered in Guangdong Province, China, is the country’s largest offshore wind turbine manufacturer. Its founder and chairman, Zhang Chuanwei, has a background in the retired military, with over three hundred retired military personnel in key positions within the company.
Public information indicates that Chinese companies hold four out of the top five global wind turbine manufacturing positions, offering prices generally 20% lower than their European competitors, thanks to national subsidies and large-scale production capacity.
According to the Financial Times, U.S. officials have specifically warned about MingYang’s involvement in the “Green Volt” project – Europe’s largest 560-megawatt floating offshore wind farm and the company’s £150 million investment in building wind turbine blade manufacturing facilities near Inverness.
American officials stated, “Chinese turbines may have built-in monitoring technology, posing high risks especially near military installations.”
The concerns of the U.S. security sector are not unfounded. Wind power facilities’ control systems have exposed technical vulnerabilities, including SCADA systems protected by easily crackable PIN codes and insufficient physical protection.
Previous U.S. experts have found “kill switches” in Chinese-made solar inverters that could remotely shut down devices or change key settings through hidden cellular radios, bypassing firewall protection.
Reports from GB News in the UK suggest that these troubling technologies may also be present in wind turbines. U.S. officials have warned that this equates to embedding a self-destruct mechanism in the power grid.
Dr. Chung Chih-Tung from the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies stated to Epoch Times that Beijing has attempted multiple times to infiltrate or disrupt critical infrastructure in the U.S. and other Western countries through devices with backdoors.
Dr. Chung said, “The U.S. has taken notice of this crisis, hence its deep concern towards the British government this time, reflecting the poor track record of the Chinese Communist Party.”
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security publicly pointed out that Chinese hackers have infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure such as water, electricity, natural gas, and transportation, establishing so-called “sleeper access.” Dr. Chung mentioned that these access points could potentially be used for remote attacks on vital U.S. infrastructure in the event of U.S.-China conflict.
Though MingYang Smart Energy appears to be a privately owned enterprise, experts generally believe that all companies in China are tightly controlled by the government.
Dr. Chung analyzed, “All Chinese companies, whether state-owned or private, essentially serve as political tools for the CCP’s political purposes.”
He stated that when the primary nature of Chinese enterprises’ business activities is to serve politic…
Dr. Li Yuanhua, a historian based in Australia, further explained that the Chinese government exercises control over all enterprises within its borders, regardless of ownership type, as the CCP aims for comprehensive control over businesses. Dr. Li emphasized, “If a company is registered in China, it simply cannot evade CCP control.”
According to Chinese laws, Chinese companies must cooperate with state intelligence agencies, meaning that even business relationships that appear to be private entities could potentially serve Beijing’s geopolitical goals.
This risk extends beyond individual wind turbines and could jeopardize the entire power grid. Chinese companies often control the software and remote maintenance rights of wind turbines, potentially creating ongoing access points via existing network attacks.
The European Solar Manufacturing Council estimated that over 200 gigawatts of solar capacity in Europe – equivalent to 200 nuclear power plants – rely on Chinese inverters. Christoph Podewils, the Secretary-General of the ESMC, stated that this is akin to “handing over remote control rights of most of their power infrastructure to China.”
The UK is not the only country facing this dilemma. Newsweek reported in early May that the U.S. had similarly warned Germany about MingYang being listed as the preferred supplier in the Waterkant wind project in the North Sea, an area near NATO military exercise zones. Norway also rejected MingYang’s investment for undisclosed reasons.
A report released in January 2025 by TNO, a research institution supported by the Dutch government, warned that incorporating Chinese equipment into the energy system could provide opportunities for future attacks and infiltration by China.
Former FBI Director Christopher Wray warned in April 2024 that China-backed hackers have infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure and are capable of causing “disastrous destruction” at any time. Operation “Volt Typhoon” infiltrated the U.S. energy system for up to five years.
A joint cybersecurity agency of the U.S., UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand issued a bulletin, revealing systematic Chinese infiltration of civilian infrastructure, aiming to establish a foothold in future conflicts.
The UK government is considering blocking MingYang’s investment projects under the National Security and Investment Act. The domestic pressure to achieve the 2030 clean energy goals is increasing, alongside U.S. security warnings. Conservative MP Andrew Bowie stated, “Warnings have been issued by the Ministry of Defense and relevant departments.”
MI5 in the UK is reportedly investigating whether the CCP is infiltrating Britain through renewable energy technology, particularly concerning potential monitoring of Royal Navy assets’ locations and submarine movements. Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, criticized that the UK’s increasing reliance on Chinese equipment will expose it to “Beijing’s influence.”
Dr. Chung believes that as long as the CCP remains an authoritarian regime without substantial changes, Western countries such as Europe and America will maintain a high level of vigilance and caution toward China.