Ministers are weighing up whether to greenlight Chinese wind giant Mingyang to supply turbines for a flagship North Sea windfarm.
The Guardian reports that Mingyang, China’s largest offshore turbine maker, is the frontrunner for the Green Volt project – Europe’s first commercial-scale floating windfarm.
However Green Volt – jointly owned by Flotation Energy, a Scottish company and Vårgrønn, a Norwegian one – has asked for government advice before sealing the deal.
Ministers are now under pressure to decide whether letting a Chinese supplier play a major role in UK energy infrastructure is politically and strategically viable.
Green Volt is being built by Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn and aims to power North Sea oil and gas platforms with clean electricity while feeding the UK grid.
The switch will replace gas and diesel on rigs with wind energy.
But the proposal comes in the wake of the government stepping in over Chinese-owned British Steel, fearing the Scunthorpe plant could be used for steel dumping.
That intervention sparked calls to keep Chinese firms out of critical national infrastructure.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds initially ruled out further Chinese involvement in key sectors but later softened his tone. Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband visited China earlier this year to talk up collaboration on climate and energy.
The decision on Mingyang isn’t subject to a formal national security review – but industry insiders say things won’t move forward without a ministerial nod.
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