LONDON — China’s Ming Yang Smart Energy Group has unveiled a plan to build the U.K.’s largest wind turbine factory at a time when the British government has come under pressure over its courting of Beijing, raising questions about London’s ability to meet its green energy targets without Chinese involvement.

The privately owned company’s Oct. 10 announcement said its plans would still need London’s approval. The government is already facing accusations of prioritizing economic ties with China over national security after the collapse of the trial of two British men who had been charged with spying for Beijing.

The deal with Ming Yang has sparked further debate about the extent to which China should be involved in critical parts of British energy infrastructure. The head of MI5, Britain’s national security agency, Ken McCallum, said on Thursday that Chinese state actors present a threat to the U.K. “every day.” Earlier this week, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre released a report that called China a “highly sophisticated and capable threat actor” targeting institutions everywhere, including in the U.K.

“You’re bringing in technology from a state which has consistently and repeatedly conducted cyber attacks against the U.K.,” he told Nikkei Asia. “So you have to be confident enough in your own mitigation measures, and be able to explain that to the broader public before bringing this technology in.”

Ming Yang proposed to invest 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) into a site in Scotland over three phases, identifying Ardersier Port near Inverness as its preferred location. In the first phase, it will invest 750 million pounds to create an advanced manufacturing facility for wind turbine blade and nacelles (structures that house generating components), with production expected by late 2028.

It will then expand the facility to develop an offshore wind industry ecosystem to support the industry in the U.K. and Europe, although the company has met resistance in Germany. The investment — which had been under discussion with the U.K. government for the last two years — will create up to 1,500 new jobs, Ming Yang said.

The deal marks a significant increase in Ming Yang’s ambitions in the country after it signed an agreement with Octopus Energy in September to deliver up to 6 gigawatts of wind power projects.

Britain’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Head of China’s National Energy Administration Wang Hongzhi shake hands before the China-U.K. Energy Dialogue in Beijing in March. Miliband was the first British energy secretary to visit China since 2017.    © Reuters

The Ardersier proposals were welcomed by the devolved Scottish government, although the final decision rests with Westminster. “This illustrates the strength of opportunity and huge economic potential that the Scottish offshore wind sector offers,” a spokesperson said.

Britain aims to reach 95% clean power by 2030, which will require a rapid expansion of the current 15.9 GW of operational offshore capacity. Ministers want that to increase to between 43 GW and 50 GW by 2030.

Last year, the Institute for Public Policy Research, an influential think tank closely aligned with the government, warned that the U.K.’s “low levels of manufacturing” could become a “critical barrier” to reaching wind targets.

It suggested that the U.K. needed to build at least one additional blade factory and two new nacelle and tower factories in the next five years, alongside two extra foundation factories.

Yeh from the China Strategic Risks Institute said it was crucial that Ming Yang did not have access to sensitive data, such as patterns of energy use, which could be used in a cyber attack. He also suggested the danger of sabotage would be lessened significantly if the government could firmly separate the physical assets from the operating system.

“It is one thing to have Chinese hardware, but if you are confident that the operating system and the connections between the power generation asset and the grid are from trusted vendors, then that also mitigates a lot of risk,” he said.

Dan Marks, research fellow in energy security at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, agreed that cyber risks needed to be “comprehensively addressed” for the investment to be approved.

But Marks also pointed out that the U.K.’s energy sector could be put at risk through the potential impact of U.S. tariffs on Chinese companies.

“The U.K. must be able to service and maintain its wind turbines whichever direction the geopolitical winds are blowing,” he said.

The opposition Conservative party has warned that the government’s pursuit of its ambitious clean energy targets will leave it exposed to Chinese influence.

Priti Patel, the shadow foreign minister, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper that there were “serious national security issues” with allowing Ming Yang to play such a large role in the U.K.’s energy system.

The German government raised concerns with a similar project this summer, after Ming Yang won a contract to supply wind turbines for the 300 megawatt Waterkant wind farm. Luxcara, the investor in the project, ultimately opted for Siemens Gamesa.

A U.K. government spokesperson said: “Any decisions made will be consistent with our national security.”

Chris Dorrell is a contributing writer.