Chinese “kill switches” have been found hidden in American solar farms, prompting calls for Ed Miliband to halt the rollout of renewables.
On Thursday, the Energy Secretary was urged to impose an “immediate pause” on his green energy blitz to review whether UK solar plants are also at risk.
The components found in the US included cellular radios capable of switching off the equipment remotely, raising serious concerns about grid security, according to Reuters.
They were found inside power inverters manufactured by unnamed Chinese companies.
Power inverters are the key links between solar or wind farms and the rest of the power system, converting their electricity so the wider grid can use it.
One source told Reuters that compromising such equipment would give Beijing the ability to inflict blackouts on the West, claiming it would create “a built-in way to physically destroy the grid”.
From the original Reuters article linked in another comment
“Reuters was unable to determine how many solar power inverters and batteries they have looked at.”
“Both (sources) declined to be named”
“The two people declined to name the Chinese manufacturers of the inverters and batteries with extra communication devices, nor say how many they had found in total.”
“The existence of the rogue devices has not previously been reported. The U.S. government has not publicly acknowledged the discoveries.”
And then we told them… gasp chuckle… that there was a Chinese kill-switch… churtle guffaw in the solar panels!
So now… heaving laugh-sigh they have to buy more… hiccup-laugh natural gas from the United States!
And it was also noted by other commenters that it’s likely a default chipset that is used rather than anything actually nefarious. Most people are unaware of how many regular devices contain disabled hardware because it’s cheaper to make one board and modify it than make a million custom ones for every cheap thing.
I suspect it is just the Emergency Rapid Shutdown, which all newer PV systems must incorporate.