๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ธ?
ย Aโ๏ธ424-wordโ๏ธ2.5-minuteโ๏ธread
I first wrote about security concerns related to Chinese inverters in May. That post was based on a Reuters story on โrogueโ communication devices found in a Chinese solar power inverter. Its source was an anonymous U.S. government employee.
The use of an anonymous source is generally a bit suspect, but since then, numerous similar stories have been done โ including a 60 ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฉ๐๐จ piece.
It should be clear to all that we have a problem.
Earlier this month, PV Tech published a story on an action by members of the European Parliament that urged the European Commission to restrict access by Chinese solar inverters to the EUโs energy infrastructure.
The reason: cybersecurity concerns.
Additionally, information was leaked to Politico that highlighted actions by German, Czech, and Lithuanian cybersecurity agencies to either ban, or warn, that Chinese-made inverters posed a risk to European grid security.
People donโt think about this, but the status of most - if not all utility-scale solar projects - is monitored in real time through remote cloud access.
Need I say more?
Yesterday, PV Magazine published this story:
๐๐ซ๐๐ง 50 ๐๐ค๐ช๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐ช๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ช๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ก๐ค๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐จ.
The House Republicans sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting that the foreign entities of concern (FEOC) rules be employed to prohibit imports of solar and battery energy storage technology. The letter referenced the previous Reuters report.
Banning the importation of Chinese inverters would pose a huge problem for the solar industry. And it would be easy to dismiss this story as another partisan attempt to restrict the deployment of renewable energy.
That would be a mistake.
This is without question a modern-day version of the Trojan Horse.
China is not our friend. Nothing would make them happier than to see the demise of the United States.
When it comes to future potential conflicts with adversaries such as China, many people immediately think of the potential for nuclear war. That remains an extremely unlikely prospect.
The next world conflict wonโt be a military one in the traditional sense. It will start with massive cyberattacks. Chinese inverters provide our adversary with ready access to launch such an attack.
There may be other solutions beyond an outright ban. Perhaps security software and/or hardware can be developed to prevent the Chinese from gaining access via their equipment. That would be an acceptable solution.
What isnโt acceptable is to continue to ignore the issue.
#solarinverters #solartechnology #china #cybersecurity #gridstability