BRUSSELS — Germany’s political system and social cohesion are at stake unless it restricts Chinese wind turbines in the country, a government-backed analysis seen by POLITICO warns. The report, which the German defense ministry commissioned, argues Beijing could purposefully delay projects, harvest sensitive data and remotely shut down turbines if given access to wind farms. It also advises the country to stop an existing wind project using Chinese turbines from going ahead. “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,” reads the report, prepared last month by the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies think tank.  “A destabilization of both the political system, the business model of German industry and social cohesion cannot therefore be ruled out due to a lack of or insufficient planning security in the energy sector,” it adds. 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.  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. Now those risks are likely to increase if ties worsen with Beijing, according to Andrea Scassola, vice president of wind research at the Rystad consultancy.  “What we are seeing … is intensifying great power rivalry, and at a time when our world is more interconnected than it has ever been — it’s a magnifier of vulnerability and risks,” he said. Overdependence on China also raises the risk of cyberattacks that could “lead to a shutdown of production,” Scassola said, adding that 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 report makes 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 reads, and could coordinate other disruptive efforts with Russia.  Part of the danger also comes from the access that manufacturers get to turbines, according to the study. Beijing’s suppliers would have access to computer programs that control active turbines and collect data from hundreds of radars built into farms, it states — a significant issue given that wind produced a third of Germany’s electricity last year and a fifth of the EU’s power. In sum, the report argues, that would hand China “considerable blackmail potential in the future.” Germany’s defense ministry and the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies declined to comment on the report.  PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE Despite the warnings, Germany has already begun eyeing Chinese firms as potential suppliers.  Last year, project developer Luxcara announced it had selected Beijing’s Ming Yang Smart Energy to supply 16 turbines for its “Waterkant” offshore wind farm in northwest Germany.  The report warns that the “first time use of Chinese wind turbines must be prevented” on “public safety” grounds, since it risks creating a reliance on Beijing’s expertise and giving it access to “essential elements of German critical infrastructure” near militarily relevant training areas. That’s not the first time the Chinese manufacturing giant’s overtures to Europe have come under scrutiny. Ming Yang supplied 10 turbines for an offshore wind farm in southern Italy that was completed in 2022; Britain’s investment minister also met with the company in December to discuss its business prospects in the U.K., POLITICO revealed last week. Germany’s wind industry is wary of the Waterkant project, too. Local turbine makers see projects with Beijing’s products as a “massive risk,” said Karina Würtz, managing director of the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation, while acknowledging that projects like Waterkant face “threats to [their] commercial viability” if Chinese suppliers withdraw. Berlin must now “investigate into that risk, honestly and in-depth,” she said, and push ahead with enforcing EU laws like the 2023 NIS2 directive, which includes measures to mitigate cybersecurity threats, as soon as a new government is formed after the Feb. 23 election. The report, meanwhile, suggests 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.  Ming Yang did not respond to questions sent by POLITICO. Luxcara declined to comment.

LONDON — Britain’s investment minister met with China’s biggest offshore wind company last year, amid security fears about the role of Chinese firms in U.K. and European energy projects. Ministerial transparency documents published this week reveal that Poppy Gustafsson met with Ming Yang Smart Energy Group Limited on Dec. 4 for a dinner. Officials confirmed to POLITICO that the minister discussed the company’s business aspirations in the U.K. The meeting was held in China during a visit last year, the month before Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited the country to drum up investment. Earlier this month, The Sun newspaper revealed that Ming Yang was selected by a joint Italian-Norwegian-Japanese venture to provide turbines for its Green Volt North Sea wind farm, set to be Europe’s largest floating green energy project. Norway rejected the firm’s bid for a tender last year over national security concerns, the paper said. Ming Yang are also in talks to open a turbine plant in Scotland if the Green Volt deal is given the go-ahead, having been given “priority status” to set up the manufacturing base, according to The Daily Mail. A trade department spokesperson said: “The investment minister has met with a number of companies, including MingYang Smart Energy Group, as part of her role to drive forward the government’s plan for change, including making the U.K. into a clean energy superpower and delivering economic growth.” SECURITY CONCERNS Opposition MPs in the U.K. parliament raised concerns with ministers last week about the  reports Ming Yang could be handed a role in building U.K. net zero infrastructure. Questioning Energy Minister Kerry McCarthy, Conservative Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie said: “The indication that Ming Yang will get the greenlight from the Treasury to supply wind turbine technology to the Greenvolt wind farm in the North Sea is concerning.”  Bowie added that “alarm bells have been sounded by officials in [the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero] and indeed in the Ministry of Defence.” DESNZ refused to tell POLITICO whether its officials had raised concerns with the Treasury. The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment on whether Gustafsson had raised any security concerns with Ming Yang during last year’s meeting. Bowie said he, along with other MPs, had been briefed in recent weeks by the Royal Navy “on the vulnerability of our subsea communications and energy infrastructure. … If Chinese-manufactured turbines are installed, security experts have warned that sensors could spy on British seas, defense submarine programs, and indeed the layout of our energy infrastructure.” Lib Dem MP Pippa Heylings told the Commons: “A former MI6 chief has warned of vulnerabilities, either deliberate or inadvertent, posed by foreign software embedded in our energy infrastructure.” BRITAIN’S INTELLIGENCE SERVICES MI5 is currently helping the government establish the extent to which Chinese technology could pose potential security threats, according to The Financial Times, as part of the new Labour government’s audit of policies towards China. The government’s evolving position on China, which aims to balance the need for economic growth with its security concerns, will include its upcoming Foreign Influence Registration Scheme — a U.S.-style register of the work of foreign states in Britain. The scheme includes Russia, China and Iran, countries which MI5 views as the main state threats to the U.K. The Home Office last month issued guidance to the U.K.’s private intelligence and security industry which included examples of how state threats could destabilize critical infrastructure. “Tactics can include collecting information about design, configuration and operation for technical access, or to gain control of supply chains through investment or monopolisation,” the department noted. In 2019 GCHQ — an arm of MI6 — told parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee that Chinese cyber actors had previously targeted Britain’s energy sector, which saw one FTSE 100 energy company compromised, seeing commercially sensitive information stolen. Ming Yang did not respond to a request for comment from POLITICO. The firm also met with Tory ministers during their time in government. Conservative ministers did not declare receiving any hospitality from the company. Andrew Bowie on Thursday sought to lay the blame squarely on Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.  Bowie told POLITICO: “We have been warning that Labour’s eco-zealotry will offshore this country’s energy security to China, and now the evidence is clear. “By throwing billions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash into a breakneck rush to net zero, all to appease Ed Miliband’s ideology and vanity, Labour will hand control of our supply chains to foreign powers, leaving critical infrastructure at the mercy of China and Russia.” A spokesperson for Miliband did not respond to a request for comment in time for deadline.