UK blocks China wind turbine project on ‘national security’ amid tense business climate

Britain’s decision to block a £1.5 billion (US$2 billion) plan by Chinese clean energy giant Mingyang to build the UK’s largest wind turbine factory in Scotland highlights the mounting challenges of doing business with China in an era of deepening global mistrust, analysts said.

The move was likely the result of direct pressure from Washington, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The US-Israeli war in Iran and the subsequent energy crisis had raised hopes for the project to be approved, but “political considerations, including geopolitical pressures, had ultimately trumped commercial ones”, the source said.

The project had long been contentious. At home, it drew opposition from certain British politicians, while the administration of US President Donald Trump and some American lawmakers also voiced concerns.

Republican congressman John Moolenaar, chairman of the House select committee on the Chinese Communist Party, told the Telegraph in October that approving the project would “defy common sense”, warning it would deepen the UK’s dependency and heighten vulnerability in its energy supply chain.

Announcing the decision on Wednesday, the UK government said that after “careful consideration” it could not support the use of Mingyang’s turbines in offshore wind projects.

South China Morning Post