HIDDEN COMMUNICATION DEVICES IN CHINESE SOLAR EQUIPMENT SPARK GLOBAL SECURITY CONCERNS

This week, U.S. energy officials uncovered a troubling discovery: undisclosed communication devices embedded in Chinese-made solar power inverters and batteries, critical components of renewable energy infrastructure, raising alarms about potential cybersecurity threats.

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These “rogue” devices, including cellular radios not listed in product documentation, could bypass security firewalls, allowing remote access to manipulate or disable energy systems, potentially destabilizing power grids worldwide.

For governments, energy providers, and global tech observers, the findings highlight vulnerabilities in the $1.5 trillion renewable energy sector, dominated by Chinese manufacturers like Huawei, Sungrow, and Ginlong Solis, and underscore escalating tensions over foreign control of critical infrastructure.

The issue, first reported by Reuters, has prompted urgent reassessments in the U.S. and Europe, where over 200 gigawatts of solar capacity—equivalent to 200 nuclear power plants—relies on Chinese inverters.

A November 2024 incident, where inverters were remotely disabled from China during a dispute between suppliers Sol-Ark and Deye, exposed the real-world risks, fueling calls for stricter regulations and domestic manufacturing.

NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE HIDDEN DEVICES

U.S. experts, routinely inspecting grid-connected equipment, discovered undocumented communication devices in solar inverters and batteries from multiple Chinese suppliers over the past nine months.

These components, including cellular radios, were not disclosed in product specifications, raising fears they could create backdoor channels for remote access. Inverters, which convert solar and wind energy into usable electricity, are the “brain” of renewable systems, managing grid connections for solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, heat pumps, and electric vehicle chargers.

The rogue devices could bypass firewalls, enabling attackers to switch off inverters, alter settings, or disrupt grid stability, with one expert warning it’s “a built-in way to physically destroy the grid.”