Cross posted from: https://feddit.de/post/11081170
“We are handing over such important capability to the net-zero transition to an entity that comes from an authoritarian and hostile state at a time when the European Union and other countries are going in a different direction,” says Scottish lawmaker Stewart McDonald, adding this would not be in the UK’s economic or energy interests.
Chinese company Mingyang Smart Energy Group was given “priority status” in offshore projects in tbe North Sea.
“This very company that’s going to be setting up here in Scotland was declined by our Norwegian neighbours recently for a similar project,” McDonald says.
The Glasgow South MP said it came “hot on the heels” of the UK government linking China to recent cyber-attacks on voter data.
He added: “I think the UK government need to explain why a project of this magnitude in an industry that is clearly sensitively strategic has been allowed to go ahead.”
Beijing was accused of attempts to access details of MPs critical of the Chinese government, which Mr McDonald said included himself.
The large wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen could power about 70% of the entire city iirc. That was one of the first large offshore windfarms, they’ll only get better and more efficient. If large offshore windfarms become more common, then huge swathes of the country will be powered by them.
If we then become reliant on those windfarms (which appears to be part of the long term plan) then putting control of them in foreign hands gives them power over us such as “oops, a cable broke and now your whole city has gone dark, ease off on foreign policy A, or agree to trade agreement B, and we might be able to fix that cable for you”
It’s a nationally critical piece of infrastructure, it’s strange to source it out of country.
Of course, a UK company could try that kinda stunt as well, but they then need to answer to UK courts. It’s less daunting for foreign state run companies as they can pull out of country easier to avoid repurcussions and have the backing of their government.
Yes, we have seen similar ‘strategies’ by China regarding its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for example. In the end Beijing tries to influence not only a foreign country’s economy but also its public administration. (For example, the port of Sri Lanka, one of China’s BRI ‘partners’, now belongs to China, meaning that the small island has lost control of its allegedly most important asset.)
Similar to what they’re doing in Africa with rare earth mining. Control the mining and/or the trade of mined rare earths.
Cables can be fixed by anyone, China don’t make the cables.
Meanwhile they’re one of the prominent suppliers for BESS batteries which are being installed all over the country.
The company appears to just be a manufacturer? The article doesn’t specify but I assume it’s not intended for them to have control of them?
Personally I would rather they were all made in the UK, to support what’s left of British manufacturing, but the article says it is part of a “Strategic Investment Model scheme for international developers to build wind farms”. It seems bizarre, to exclude domestic companies entirely like that.
It probably comes down to people not being willing to pay twice as much for electricity if the infrastructure can be acquired for half the price elsewhere.