Wind Energy: Britain’s China Syndrome

October 24, 2025

Angela Merkel resumed Germany’s decommissioning of nuclear stations and decided that the smart approach was to buy “cheap” Russian gas at the same time as Germany invests heavily in wind energy. Remarkably (or not), Germany’s final decision to go ahead with the second pair of Nord Stream pipelines was taken after the initial Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Britain decided some time ago to decarbonize its energy supply, a bad idea made worse by the fanaticism with which Ed Miliband, the current secretary of state for energy security and net zero (choose one, Ed), has taken to this task. For obvious reasons, most of the focus of this effort in the U.K. has, when it comes to renewables, been on wind, not solar. Among the false claims used to promote this program (one is that it’s cheaper) has been that it will enable Britain to achieve energy independence from “foreign dictators.”

How’s that going?

From Energy Digital (January 15):

The UK and China have a history of collaboration in wind energy, beginning with a 2013 Memorandum of Understanding aimed at overcoming technological and market barriers.

Notable cooperative ventures include the supply of innovative aerodynamic enhancements by Oxford-based Anakata Wind Power to Chinese wind farms, leading to significant increases in energy output.

Chinese investments have supported UK projects like the Beatrice offshore wind farm and the Green Volt floating project in Scotland.

Despite these achievements concerns linger, as voiced by former SNP MP Stewart McDonald, about the potential risks of allowing Chinese firms to supply critical components for UK energy infrastructure.

He remarks on the strategic hazards of relying on suppliers from what he refers to as “an authoritarian and hostile state”.

“We are handing over such important capability to the net zero transition to an entity that comes from an authoritarian and hostile state at a time when the European Union and other countries are going in a different direction,” he says.

On the other hand, figures like Jonathan Cole, CEO of Corio Generation, warn that excluding Chinese input might hinder the UK’s clean energy targets due to a projected shortage of critical components.

Those include components made with rare earths.

Oops.

And now (according to the Daily Telegraph), China is cracking the whip:

China has threatened to cut investments in the UK after claiming political interference from the Government was delaying construction of a major wind turbine factory in Scotland.

Ming Yang Smart Energy Group, an infrastructure group with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, wants to spend £1.5bn to build a turbine manufacturing base near Inverness.

The plan has provoked criticism, including from the Trump administration, over fears that giving Ming Yang access to Britain’s offshore wind infrastructure poses a national security risk.

Wind Energy: Britain's China Syndrome | National Review

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