Illegal Communication Devices Found In Chinese-made Solar Power Inverter

Illustration of solar inverters made in China (photo: servotech.in)

JAKARTA - US energy officials are reassessing the risks posed by Chinese-made devices that play an important role in renewable energy infrastructure. This was done after unregistered communication devices were found on some of these devices.

Power inverters, mostly produced in China, are used worldwide to connect solar panels and wind turbines to the power grid. The device is also found in batteries, heat pumps, and electric vehicle chargers.

Although inverters are designed to allow long-distance access to updates and maintenance, utility companies that use them usually install firewalls to prevent direct communication from returning to China. However, illegal communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in several Chinese-made solar power inverters by US experts who dismantled network-connected devices to check security issues.

In the past nine months, unrecorded communications devices, including mobile radio, were also found in several batteries from various Chinese suppliers, ordering a source.

This illegal device provides unregistered additional communication channels that can allow firewalls to be remotely violated, with potential very serious consequences, the source said. Both declined to be named because they did not get permission to speak to the media.

"We know that China believes there is value in putting at least some elements of our core infrastructure at risk of destruction or interference," said Mike Rogers, former US Director of the National Security Agency, quoted by VOI from Reuters. "I think, in part, China hopes that the widespread use of inverters limits the choice of the West to address these security concerns."

But the Chinese side denied the allegations. "We are against the generalization of the national security concept, which distorts and defames China's infrastructure achievements," a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said.

Using this illegal communication device to avoid firewalls and turn off inverters remotely, or change the settings, could damage the power grid, damage energy infrastructure, and trigger broad power outages, experts say. "That means there is a built-in way to physically damage the power grid," said one source.

The two men refused to name the Chinese inverter and battery manufacturers who had these additional communications devices, and also did not provide the exact number of devices found.

The existence of this illegal device has not been previously reported. The US government has not publicly acknowledged the findings.

Asked for the comments, the US Department of Energy Spokesman (DOE) said that they continue to assess the risks associated with developing technology and that there are major challenges related to the disclosure and documentation of functionality by manufacturers.

"While this functionality may not have malicious intent, it is very important for those who procure it to have a full understanding of the capabilities of the products received," the spokesperson said. Work is underway to address loopholes in disclosure through the "Software Bill of Materials" or inventory of all components that make up software applications and other contractual requirements, the spokesperson said.

TRUSTED EQUIPMENT Increases tensions between the US-China, US and other countries are reassessing China's role in strategic infrastructure due to concerns about its potential vulnerability to attacks, two former government officials said.

"The threat we face from the Chinese Communist Party (PKC) is real and growing. Whether it's telecommunication hacking or accessing solar and battery inverters remotely, PKC doesn't stop to target our infrastructure and sensitive components," said US Congress Member August Pfluger, a member of the Republican Homeland Security Committee.

"It's time for us to step up our efforts to show China that our compromise will no longer be accepted," he added.

In February, two US Senators introduced the Separation Act from Threat-Dependence Foreign Batteries, which prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from buying batteries from several Chinese entities, which took effect in October 2027, due to concerns about national security.

The draft law has been referred to the Domestic Security Committee and Senate Government Affairs on March 11 and has not been passed.

The law aims to prevent Domestic Security from delivering batteries from six Chinese companies that are said to have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party: Contemporary Amperex Technology Company (CATL), BYD Company, Envision Energy, EVE Energy Company, Hithium Energy Storage Technology Company, and Higher-tech Company.

Currently, the utility is preparing a possible similar ban on Chinese inverters, three people familiar with the matter said. Some of the utilities, including Florida's largest power provider, the Florida Power & Light Company, are trying to reduce the use of Chinese inverters by looking for equipment from elsewhere, according to two people familiar with the matter.

KATASROFIK Huawei's IMPLICATION is the world's largest supplier of inverters, which controls 29% of global shipments by 2022, followed by Chinese colleagues, Sungrow and Ginlong Solis, according to consultancy Wood Macoch.

However, the German solar developer, 1Komma5, said it avoided Huawei's inverters because of its association with security risks.

"Ten years ago, if you shut down Chinese inverters, it wouldn't have caused anything dramatic on the European network, but now the critical mass is much larger," said 1Komma5 CEO Philipp

"China's dominance is increasingly becoming a problem due to the growing capacity of renewable energy in the Western network and the possibility of a prolonged and serious confrontation between China and the West," he added.

Since 2019, the US has restricted Huawei's access to US technology, on charges that the company is involved in activities that are contrary to national security, Huawei denies.

Chinese companies are required by law to cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies, which give the Chinese government the potential for control over Chinese-made inverters connected to foreign networks, experts say.

Although Huawei decided to leave the US inverter market in 2019 a year when its telecommunications equipment was banned the company remains the dominant supplier elsewhere.

Huawei itself declined to comment on the allegations.

In Europe, controlling only 3 to 4 gigawatts of energy can cause major disruption to electricity supply, experts say.

The European Solar Manufacturing Council estimates that more than 200 GW of European solar power capacity is connected to inverters made in China equivalent to more than 200 nuclear power plants.

At the end of last year, there were 338 GWs of solar power installed in Europe, according to industry association SolarPower Europe.

"If you control a large number of home solar inverters remotely, and do something detrimental at once, it could have word-strific implications for the power grid over a long period of time," said Uri Sadot, director of a cybersecurity program at Israeli inverter manufacturer SolarEdge.

The STRATEGIC DEPENDENCE of other countries such as Lithuania and Estonia recognizes threats to energy security. In November, the Lithuanian government passed a law blocking China's long-distance access to solar, wind, and battery installations above 100 kilowatts by default limiting the use of Chinese inverters.

Lithuanian Energy Minister, Zygenmantas Vaiciunas, said this could be extended to a smaller roof solar installation.

Estonia's Director-General of Foreign Intelligence, Kaupo Rosin, said the country could be at risk of extortion from China if it did not ban Chinese technology in a very important economic part, such as solar inverters.

Estonia's Ministry of Defense and Climate declined to comment when asked to confirm whether they had taken action.

In the UK, the government's review of China's renewable energy technology in the energy system will be resolved in the coming months including inverters, said someone familiar with the matter.

In November, solar power inverters in the US and other places were shut down from China, highlighting the risk of foreign influence on local electricity supply and raising concerns among government officials, three people familiar with the matter said.