Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:
Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar power
inverters (2/2)
Reuters -Sarah McFarlane
Tue, May 13, 2025 at 10:05 p.m. PDT·8 min read
(continue)
'CATASTROPHIC IMPLICATIONS'
Huawei is the world's largest supplier of inverters,
accounting for 29% of shipments globally in 2022, followed by Chinese peers
Sungrow and Ginlong Solis, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
German solar developer 1Komma5 said, however, that it avoids
Huawei inverters, because of the brand's associations with security risks.
"Ten years ago, if you switched off the Chinese
inverters, it would not have caused a dramatic thing to happen to European
grids, but now the critical mass is much larger," 1Komma5 Chief Executive
Philipp Schroeder said.
"China's dominance is becoming a bigger issue because
of the growing renewables capacity on Western grids and the increased
likelihood of a prolonged and serious confrontation between China and the
West," he said.
Since 2019, the U.S. has restricted Huawei's access to U.S.
technology, accusing the company of activities contrary to national security,
which Huawei denies.
Chinese companies are required by law to cooperate with
China's intelligence agencies, giving the government potential control over
Chinese-made inverters connected to foreign grids, experts said.
Huawei declined to
comment.
The European Solar
Manufacturing Council estimates over 200 GW of European solar power capacity is
linked to inverters made in China - equivalent to more than 200 nuclear power
plants.
At the end of last year, there was 338 GW of installed solar
power in Europe, according to industry association SolarPower Europe.
"If you remotely control a large enough number of home
solar inverters, and do something nefarious at once, that could have
catastrophic implications to the grid for a prolonged period of time,"
said Uri Sadot, cyber security program director at Israeli inverter
manufacturer SolarEdge.
STRATEGIC DEPENDENCIES
Other countries such as Lithuania and Estonia acknowledge the threats to energy security. In November, the Lithuanian government passed a law blocking remote Chinese access to solar, wind and battery installations above 100 kilowatts - by default restricting the use of Chinese inverters.
Energy minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said this could be
extended to smaller rooftop solar installations.
Estonia's Director General of the Foreign Intelligence
Service, Kaupo Rosin, said the country could be at risk of blackmail from China
if it did not ban Chinese technology in crucial parts of the economy, such as
solar inverters.
In Britain, the
government's review of Chinese renewable energy technology in the energy system
- due to be concluded in the coming months - includes looking at inverters, a
person familiar with the matter said.
Reuters was unable
to determine how many inverters were switched off, or the extent of disruption
to grids. The DOE declined to comment on the incident.
Sol-Ark and Deye did not respond to requests for comment.
The energy sector is trailing other industries such as
telecoms and semiconductors, where regulations have been introduced in Europe
and the U.S. to mitigate China's dominance.
Security analysts say this is partly because decisions about
whether to secure energy infrastructure are mostly dictated by the size of any
installation.
Household solar or battery storage systems fall below
thresholds where security requirements typically kick-in, they said, despite
now contributing a significant share of power on many Western grids.
NATO, the 32-country Western security alliance, said China's
efforts to control member states' critical infrastructure - including inverters
- were intensifying.
"We must identify strategic dependencies and take steps
to reduce them," said a NATO official.
Translation
在中國太陽能逆變器中發現惡意通訊設備（2/2）
（繼續）
“災難性影響”
據顧問公司 Wood Mackenzie 稱，華為是全球最大的逆變器供應商，2022 年佔全球出貨量的 29%，其次是中國同行 Sungrow 和 Ginlong Solis。
然而，德國太陽能開發商 1Komma5 表示，由於華為品牌存在安全風險，因此不會使用華為逆變器。
1Komma5 執行長 Philipp Schroeder 表示： “十年前，如果關閉中國逆變器，不會對歐洲電網造成太大影響，但現在影響的嚴重量要大得多。”
他說： “由於西方電網中,可再生能源容量的不斷增長，以及中國與西方之間發生長期嚴重對抗的可能性增加，中國的主導位置正成為一個更大的問題。”
自2019年以來，美國一直限制華為進接美國技術，指控該公司從事危害國家安全的活動，但華為對此否認。
專家表示，中國企業依法必須與中國情報機構合作，這使得政府有可能控制連接到外國電網的中國製造的逆變器。
儘管華為於 2019 年（其 5G 電信設備被禁的年份）決定退出美國逆變器市場，但它仍然是其他市場的主要供應商。
華為拒絕置評。
專家表示，在歐洲，僅控制3至4千兆瓦的電能就可能導致電力供應大幅中斷。
歐洲太陽能製造委員會估計，歐洲超過 200 吉瓦的太陽能發電量是連接到中國製造的逆變器，相當於 200 多座核電廠。
據產業協會 SolarPower Europe 稱，截至去年年底，歐洲太陽能裝置為 338 吉瓦。
以色列逆變器製造商 SolarEdge 的網路安全專案總監 Uri Sadot 表示： “如果你能遠程控制足夠數量的家用太陽能逆變器，並同時進行一些惡意操作，這可能會對電網造成長期災難性的影響。”
戰略上的依賴
立陶宛和愛沙尼亞等其他國家也承認能源安全面臨威脅。 11月，立陶宛政府通過了一項法律，禁止中國遠程接進100千瓦以上的太陽能、風能和電池裝置 - 實質上限制使用中國逆變器。
能源部長 Zygimantas Vaiciunas 表示，這項計劃可能擴展到規模較小的屋頂太陽能裝置。
愛沙尼亞對外情報局局長 Kaupo Rosin 表示，如果愛沙尼亞不禁止在太陽能逆變器等經濟關鍵領域使用中國技術，該國可能面臨來自中國的勒索風險。
當被問及是否採已取了任何行動時，愛沙尼亞國防部和氣候部拒絕評論。
一位知情人士透露，英國政府對能源系統中的中國再生能源應用審查, 將在未來幾個月內完成，其中包括對逆變器的審查。
三位知情人士稱，去年 11 月，兩家逆變器供應商 Sol-Ark 和 Deye 之間的商業糾紛導緻美國和其他地區的中國太陽能逆變器被停用，這凸顯了外國勢力影響當地電力供應的風險，並引起了政府官員的擔憂。
路透社無法確定有多少個逆變器被關掉，或對電網干擾的程度。美國能源部拒絕對此事件發表評論。
Sol-Ark 和 Deye 沒有回應置評請求。
能源產業落後於電信和半導體等其他產業，歐洲和美國已推出相關法規以削弱中國能源產業的主導地位。
安全分析師表示，部分原因是，是否保障能源基礎設施安全的決定, 主要取決於設施的規模。
他們表示，儘管家庭太陽能或電池儲存系統目前在許多西方電網中貢獻了相當大的部分電力，但它們仍未達到標準啟動安全要求的門檻。
由 32 個國家組成的西方安全聯盟的北約表示，中國正在加強控製成員國關鍵基礎設施（包括逆變器）。
一位北約官員表示： “我們必須尋找出戰略上依賴,並採取措施減少它。”
So, the U.S. energy officials are reassessing
the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that may play a critical role in its renewable
energy infrastructure. In Britain, the government's review of Chinese renewable
energy technology in its energy system will be completed soon. I am interested
in knowing the outcome of these investigations.
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