12th Feb 2025 14:46
(Alliance News) - The UK government has come under renewed pressure over Chinese involvement in a major North Sea wind project, amid claims it threatens national security.
Energy minister Kerry McCarthy said the department had processes in place to ensure any risk in the Green Volt North Sea farm was minimised, as the Conservative Party said Labour's green energy targets came with a "made in China label".
The project, due to be Europe's largest floating offshore wind farm, is a joint venture between a Japanese and an Italian-Norwegian company.
The Treasury has reportedly selected Chinese firm Mingyang Smart Energy to supply wind turbines.
Among the concerns raised by government departments was that the Chinese state could switch off the power once the wind farm is operational, or that the platforms could be used as spy sensors, according to the Sun.
Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West Christine Jardine said the government needed to ensure the software could not be accessed remotely or be at risk of being switched off by others.
She said the government must follow "rigorous processes", adding: "That must include an assessment of any opportunities for remote access to the turbines, as the software will normally remain in control of the manufacturers, even once commissioned, which would leave them vulnerable to being switched off. We need local control."
McCarthy said: "We have discussions with a wide range, variety, of international investors, but we do absolutely recognise this needs to be balanced against national security implications, and that is something that we work on constantly across Government."
"We do want to make sure that the most robust processes are followed as we look at the details of this particular incident."
Shadow energy minister Andrew Bowie said: "Alarm bells have been sounded by officials in the minister's own department and indeed in the Ministry of Defence. This green revolution will come with a made in China label.
"The government in collusion, indeed, with the SNP in Holyrood, are determined to see the Chinese companies reap the economic reward."
His party colleague Iain Duncan Smith, a veteran China sceptic, said the country was not the answer to UK climate ambitions "whatever the question is" and raised concerns about the role of slave labour in any production of solar energy.
The MP for Chingford & Wood Green said: "We know that the MoD (Ministry of Defence) and the Department for Energy Security has raised objections about the Treasury's push to bring Mingyang Smart Energy into the circuit on this one, to bid for this.
"The second thing is that China is determined to use slave labour in their products. We are, under this Government, investing in solar arrays which have a huge amount of slave labour in the producing of polysilicon.
"Does the government not recognise that their tilt towards China, to get them to invest in this, runs the real risk of utter dependency on China, and of course, serious threats to our security, highlighted endlessly by the security services. Will they now stop?"
McCarthy said the Solar Task Force would examine whether there is any slave labour in supply chains for solar panels.
"It's not something that one country can tackle by itself. We all need to be alert to the risks of slave labour," she said.
The Green Volt North Sea wind farm will be about 75 kilometres, or 46 miles, off the coast of Aberdeenshire and will generate up to 560MW of electricity. The firm says it is aiming for the plant to be operational in 2029.
The consideration of Mingyang Smart Energy comes as Britain is seeking a closer relationship with China.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves flew to the country in January to meet the country's leaders, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy will meet his Chinese counterpart this week.
This is despite concerns about China's human rights record, and potential for them to use backdoors in Britain's energy infrastructure to blackmail a future government.
McCarthy defended engaging with China, adding: "We absolutely need to attract the investment that we need to meet our clean power mission to secure our future energy security and in the long run bring down bills for the British people.
"We need to balance national security concerns in tandem with that."
By Harry Taylor and Rhiannon James, PA Political Staff
Press Association: News
source: PA
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