UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been called on to pause and review the developed of a potential turbine facility in Scotland being developed by Mingyang Smart Energy (LON:MYSE).
SNP MP for Glasgow South Stewart Malcolm McDonald asked the Prime Minister in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions if he planned to intervene in the facility’s approval process.
Citing several China-linked cybersecurity breaches and the threat the country is seen to pose to the UK’s energy security, he noted that “plans by China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer Mingyang Smart Energy to build its largest European facility right here in the UK advance at pace with the facility set to be built in Scotland.”
He added: “Given widely shared concerns about the involvement of hostile states such as China in the UK’s critical national energy infrastructure, does [Sunak] not agree now is the time for this project to be paused, to be reviewed by the government on national security grounds, and if not, what message does he think that sends.”
Replying, Sunak stated: “It is right that we take firm steps to protect ourselves against that, particularly in the area of economic security, which is why we passed the national security and investment act, precisely so we can screen transactions, without commenting on individual ones of course, to protect this country.
“And we have used those powers, not least to block Chinese investment in a sensitive semi-conductor company, but also to ensure that the Chinese state nuclear company had no part in the future of our nuclear power.
“So, [McDonald] can rest assured that we are alive to the challenges and have passed laws that give us the powers to protect against them.”
Mingyang has been eyeing moving into international markets, with Europe offering an attractive market for offshore wind.
The group recently partnered up with Opergy Group to explore potential sites for manufacturing facilities.
One such project is a proposed is a a Mingyang wind turbine OEM facility, which Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) added to the second stage of assessment in the Strategic Investment Model (SIM).
However, this has raised concerns that the project could undermine the UK’s energy independence, opening up its infrastructure to Chinese surveillance, and alienating European manufacturers.
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