Germany could halt offshore wind project over Chinese wind turbine concerns
Germany’s defense ministry has cited concerns over the use of Chinese wind turbines in German offshore wind farms and reportedly could halt construction of the Waterkant project, a 270 MW project planned for the German North Sea.
Last year, project developer Luxcara announced it had selected Beijing’s Ming Yang Smart Energy to supply 16 turbines for the Waterkant project. But analysts have noted that Mingyang has ties to the Chinese military and Communist Party. This has raised concerns about national security, cyber security, and the potential for unfair trade practices.
In March, the German defense ministry issued a report detailing its concerns about the Waterkant project to Germany’s interior ministry, which is responsible for most internal security matters, according to Politico.
The report, prepared by the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies think tank, argued that Beijing could purposefully delay projects, harvest sensitive data and remotely shut down turbines if given access to wind farms.
“When using systems or components from Chinese manufacturers … given the political situation, it can even be assumed that such a slowdown or even disruption would be deliberately used by China as a means of political pressure or even as an instrument of economic warfare,” the report was quoted to say.
The analysis comes amid growing concerns related to critical infrastructure risks in Europe. Since 2022, at least six separate incidents of suspected underwater sabotage have taken place in the Baltic Sea. Several reports indicate that Chinese ships have been suspected of cutting or damaging undersea cables, raising concerns about potential sabotage. These incidents have occurred in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Taiwan, and potentially elsewhere. Specifically, investigations have focused on Chinese vessels potentially dragging anchors, causing damage to critical data cables.
Meanwhile, Brussels has begun cracking down on Chinese wind suppliers after suspecting them of receiving state subsidies to beat out European competitors for European Union projects. Last year, the European Commission, the EU’s executive, opened a probe into Beijing-linked wind projects in Bulgaria, France, Greece, Romania and Spain. Similar public warnings or legal moves to restrict Beijing’s access have already taken place in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Poland and Lithuania.
The German report issued similar warnings. If relations sour with China, Beijing could delay the operation of new farms by “at least four to five years” between the planning approval and commissioning stages, the analysis said, and could coordinate other disruptive efforts with Russia.
Part of the danger also comes from the access that manufacturers can obtain through the turbines, the report noted. Beijing’s suppliers would have access to computer programs that control active turbines and collect data from hundreds of radars built into offshore wind farms — a significant issue given that wind produced a third of Germany’s electricity last year and a fifth of the EU’s power.
The report contended that such a scenario would hand China “considerable blackmail potential in the future.” It further warned that the “first time use of Chinese wind turbines must be prevented” on “public safety” grounds, since it risked creating a reliance on Beijing’s expertise and giving it access to “essential elements of German critical infrastructure” near militarily relevant training areas.
The report, meanwhile, suggested that Berlin explore legal tools like its national procurement law and Wind Energy at Sea Act to exclude Chinese firms from contracts on defense or public safety grounds.
