The danger of Chinese technology in energy networks is evident: whether it is true or not the presence of “killer switch” in solar panels, without the Beijing manufacturers, the ecological transition is impossible.
According to an article that appeared on the Daily Mail, China secretly installed “Kill Switch” in the solar panels sold to the West, which could lead to their deactivation in the event of a third world war. According to some technicians interviewed by the writer, instead, there would be an insufficient resistance to electromagnetic interference by some electronic components used in cell management circuits, which in the event of nuclear explosion within a few hundred kilometers would lead to neutralize the panels. According to the Daily Mail, a “Kill Switch” was discovered – literally a switch for deactivation – integrated into the Chinese manufacture components present in American solar parks, fueling the fear that Beijing can manipulate the supplies or “turn off” the energy networks of the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. Some officials in the energy sector would therefore be evaluating the risks placed by small communication devices in the inverters of Potenza (the units that transform the continuous current generated by the panels into alternating current, also raising the voltage), an integral component of the renewable energy systems that connects them to the electrical network. Although the inverters are designed to allow remote access for updates and maintenance, the public service companies that generally use them install “firewall” protection programs to prevent direct communication with China. However, according to what was declared by the Reuters agency, they would have been found not declared communication systems nor authorized in some solar inverters by US experts, who dismantled the equipment connected to the network to verify their safety. The danger is that the activation of these devices allows the interruption of the flow of energy remotely or even change its settings in order to destabilize the electrical networks, damage the energy infrastructures and trigger widespread blackouts. One of the sources that revealed to Reuters this hypothesis used very clear words: “This means, in fact, that there is an integrated way to physically destroy the network.” Of course, the discovery raised fears that Beijing can maintain the ability to devastate electrical networks throughout the western world, such is the dependence of renewable energy systems on Chinese manufacture components.
In addition to safety, dependence on Chinese products
The thesis of British technicians is more prudent, according to which Chinese panels would have only greater vulnerability to electromagnetic disorders, using less resistant to energy from the outside of the circuits, just like the one that is released during nuclear explosions. And since it is not known whether these “pirate” communication systems or the sensitive components are present in the power converters installed in the wind or solar parks of the United Kingdom, here we are talking about possible “Kill Switch”. Yesterday, the British conservative parliamentarian Andrew Bowie, former undersecretary of energy security in the period 2023-2024, asked the current Labor Secretary for Energy Safety and Zero emissions, and Miliband, to implement an “immediate suspension and revision” of the operations in progress for the transition to green energy, also referring to what happened in the USA, where they were placed for inspections for inspections ascertain whether these Chinese manufacturing components were present in the US solar parks, the sources of Reuters refused to appoint the Chinese producers of the inverters and the batteries involved, nor to say those who had found it; However, the existence of unauthorized devices had not been reported previously and the United States government has not publicly recognized any discovery. Andrew, interviewed by Telegraph, said: “We were already aware of the concerns raised by the Ministry of Defense and by the safety and intelligence services regarding a possible monitoring of the Chinese manufacturing wind turbines”. It seems, however, that in the last nine months some unwanted communication devices, including mobile radio devices, have also been found in the circuits together of batteries of different Chinese suppliers. Mike Rogers, former director of the US National Security Agency, said: “We know that China believes that it is useful to put at risk of destruction or interruption at least some elements of our main infrastructure, I think the Chinese Sperino, in part, that the widespread use of inverter limits the options available to the West to face the issue of security”. Asked by the Daily Mail for a comment, the US Energy Department said to constantly evaluate the risks associated with emerging technologies and that there are significant difficulties on the part of producers in disclosing and documenting features. In a note, the Department spokesman said: “Although this functionality may not have arson, it is essential that those who deal with the supply fully includes the skills of the products received.” And for this reason the lists of the materials and components used have been requested.
A market dominated by Beijing
The main inverter supplier was Huawei, which represented 29% of global shipments in 2022, followed by the Chinese Sungrow and Ginlong Solis (source Wood Mackenzie), which together Cube therefore over 50% of the worldwide inverter market in 2023 And accusing the company of activities contrary to national security, actions that the Chinese have always denied and which also led to the radiation of American software in Beijing institutions. Philipp Schröder, CEO of the German Solar Company 1Kommasis, told Reuters that Chinese influence on the European energy network now represents a serious concern for safety: “Ten years ago, if we had turned off the Chinese inverters we would not have had dramatic consequences on European networks, but now the critical mass is much larger; China’s dominance is becoming an increasingly serious problem due to the growing energy capacity renewable on western networks and the growing probability of prolonged and serious confrontation between China and West “.
