Latest news with #EnergySecurity
The Independent
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Most new homes will need solar panels under Government plans
New Homes in England will be required to have solar panels and low-carbon heating systems under the Future Homes Standard (FHS) to be published this autumn. The FHS aims to reduce carbon emissions from new housing, addressing the UK's carbon footprint from gas heating in Homes. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband stated that solar panels could save households hundreds of pounds on energy bills, making their installation a common-sense requirement. The government says the measures will help cut household energy bills and boost the nation's energy security, with typical Homes potentially saving around £530 a year by installing rooftop solar. While the government isn't banning gas boilers, the FHS mandates minimum energy efficiency criteria, effectively requiring greener heating systems in new builds, and recent planning rule changes have made heat pump installations easier.
Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Ed Miliband's net zero targets threatened by BP retreat
A massive hydrogen project at the heart of Ed Miliband's net zero plans risks being cancelled as BP retreats from green targets. The H2Teesside scheme, announced in 2021 by the company's then chief executive Bernard Looney, was designed to produce 'blue' hydrogen from natural gas, and then capture and store the carbon emissions. It had been slated to deliver more than 10pc of the 2030 target set by Mr Miliband, the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, for hydrogen production and was expected to come online by the late 2020s. But sources have warned that BP is now likely to scale back or even cancel the 1.2 gigawatt project as it struggles to secure enough customers to make the investment worthwhile. The FTSE 100 company is currently in talks with the Government about whether greater state support can be provided, with Mr Miliband's department viewing the scheme as a potentially important source of hydrogen for both industrial uses and power plants. On Friday, Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley mayor, said he was seeking urgent talks with BP about the 'highly concerning' potential setback. He said: 'Asking for increased government subsidy in this way is not a sound basis for an investment of such scale and BP must now be clear in setting out a coherent plan for the project. 'There remains a high level of interest for this site from alternative investors and we will continue to pursue all options.'
CBC
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Arctic energy, security on agenda as Western premiers meet in Yellowknife
Premiers from Western Canada are to meet Wednesday for the first of a two-day conference in Yellowknife. Premiers from Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are set to attend the annual conference. Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson's office says the leaders will discuss a range of issues, including Arctic and energy security, trade and emergency preparedness. It says housing, economic corridors and tariffs are also on the agenda. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's office says he plans to discuss a number of priorities he's put to Prime Minister Mark Carney to take on, including strengthening the Criminal Code and allowing provinces to have full responsibility of the industrial carbon levy. Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok says his main focus will be on the Arctic and the need for infrastructure to protect the security and sovereignty of the North. He says the Arctic has incredible resource potential, which is why he wants to see more conversation around infrastructure building.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Western premiers meet in Yellowknife to talk trade, energy and Arctic security
YELLOWKNIFE — Premiers from Western Canada are to meet Wednesday to kick off a two-day conference in Yellowknife. Set to attend are Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, British Columbia's David Eby, Saskatchewan's Scott Moe, Manitoba's Wab Kinew, Nunavut's P.J. Akeeagok, Yukon's outgoing Premier Ranj Pillai and Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson. This annual conference comes two weeks before all Canada's premiers are to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Saskatoon. A statement from Simpson's office last week said the western leaders are set to discuss a range of issues, including Arctic sovereignty, energy security, international trade and emergency preparedness. Housing, economic corridors and tariffs are also on the agenda. Smith said the meeting is taking place at a "critical moment" for Alberta, in the wake of last month's federal election. She said she plans to advocate for new pipelines. "We cannot afford federal overreach into provincial jurisdiction to continue or damaging federal policies to impact the upward trajectory of our economies," Smith said Tuesday in a statement. "I will be at the table to advocate for Alberta's interests, particularly the importance of new pipelines, in an effort to put the power of our economy back in the hands of western Canadians.' Eby said Tuesday that Western Canada is "leading the country, being the engine of the economy for Canada," but he lamented talk of western separatism in the lead-up to the meeting. 'I think it's really unfortunate that at this moment, when Western Canada is stepping into the spotlight, that there's any discussion at all about leaving Canada,' Eby told an unrelated news conference. 'I mean, to advance that at the moment, it's strange.' Akeeagok said in an email he's looking to push the conversation forward on Arctic security and infrastructure projects needed to strengthen it. The long-discussed Grays Bay Road and Port proposal, which would connect Yellowknife to the eastern Arctic coast by road, would help unlock the North's vast economic potential, he said. "The Arctic holds incredible promise and, through strategic investments in critical infrastructure, we can responsibly access key resources, including critical minerals," he said. A spokesperson for Moe said the premier plans to discuss items he recently urged Carney to act on, including strengthening the Criminal Code, giving provinces full responsibility for the industrial carbon levy, repealing clean electricity regulations and expanding pipelines. Moe has said he also wants Carney to immediately begin negotiations with China to remove Beijing's tariffs on Canadian agricultural goods. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2025. — By Jack Farrell in Edmonton, with files from Jeremy Simes in Regina The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
CNA
16-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar power inverters
LONDON: US energy officials are reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some of them, two people familiar with the matter said. Power inverters, which are predominantly produced in China, are used throughout the world to connect solar panels and wind turbines to electricity grids. They are also found in batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers. While inverters are built to allow remote access for updates and maintenance, the utility companies that use them typically install firewalls to prevent direct communication back to China. However, rogue communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in some Chinese solar power inverters by US experts who strip down equipment hooked up to grids to check for security issues, the two people said. Over the past nine months, undocumented communication devices, including cellular radios, have also been found in some batteries from multiple Chinese suppliers, one of them said. Reuters was unable to determine how many solar power inverters and batteries they have looked at. The rogue components provide additional, undocumented communication channels that could allow firewalls to be circumvented remotely, with potentially catastrophic consequences, the two people said. Both declined to be named because they did not have permission to speak to the media. "We know that China believes there is value in placing at least some elements of our core infrastructure at risk of destruction or disruption," said Mike Rogers, a former director of the US National Security Agency. "I think that the Chinese are, in part, hoping that the widespread use of inverters limits the options that the West has to deal with the security issue." A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said: "We oppose the generalisation of the concept of national security, distorting and smearing China's infrastructure achievements." Using the rogue communication devices to skirt firewalls and switch off inverters remotely, or change their settings, could destabilise power grids, damage energy infrastructure, and trigger widespread blackouts, experts said. "That effectively means there is a built-in way to physically destroy the grid," one of the people said, The two people declined to name the Chinese manufacturers of the inverters and batteries with extra communication devices, nor say how many they had found in total. The existence of the rogue devices has not previously been reported. The US government has not publicly acknowledged the discoveries. Asked for comment, the US Department of Energy (DOE) said it continually assesses risk associated with emerging technologies and that there were significant challenges with manufacturers disclosing and documenting functionalities. "While this functionality may not have malicious intent, it is critical for those procuring to have a full understanding of the capabilities of the products received," a spokesperson said. Work is ongoing to address any gaps in disclosures through "Software Bill of Materials" - or inventories of all the components that make up a software application - and other contractual requirements, the spokesperson said. TRUSTED EQUIPMENT As US-China tensions escalate, the US and others are reassessing China's role in strategic infrastructure because of concerns about potential security vulnerabilities, two former government officials said. "The threat we face from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is real and growing. Whether it's telecom hacks or remotely accessing solar and battery inverters, the CCP stops at nothing to target our sensitive infrastructure and components," said US Representative August Pfluger, a Republican member of the Committee on Homeland Security. "It is about time we ramp up our efforts to show China that compromising us will no longer be acceptable," he told Reuters. In February, two US Senators introduced the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act, banning the Department of Homeland Security from purchasing batteries from some Chinese entities, starting October 2027, due to national security concerns. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Mar 11 and has yet to be enacted. It aims to prevent Homeland Security from procuring batteries from six Chinese companies Washington says are closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party: Contemporary Amperex Technology Company (CATL), BYD Company, Envision Energy, EVE Energy Company, Hithium Energy Storage Technology Company, and Gotion High-tech Company. None of the companies responded to requests for comment. Utilities are now preparing for similar bans on Chinese inverter manufacturers, three people with knowledge of the matter said. Some utilities, including Florida's largest power supplier, Florida Power & Light Company, are attempting to minimise the use of Chinese inverters by sourcing equipment from elsewhere, according to two people familiar with the matter. FPL did not respond to requests for comment. The DOE spokesperson said: "As more domestic manufacturing takes hold, DOE is working across the federal government to strengthen US supply chains, providing additional opportunities to integrate trusted equipment into the power grid." "CATASTROPHIC IMPLICATIONS" Huawei is the world's largest supplier of inverters, accounting for 29 per cent of shipments globally in 2022, followed by Chinese peers Sungrow and Ginlong Solis, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. German solar developer 1Komma5 said, however, that it avoids Huawei inverters because of the brand's associations with security risks. "Ten years ago, if you switched off the Chinese inverters, it would not have caused a dramatic thing to happen to European grids, but now the critical mass is much larger," 1Komma5 Chief Executive Philipp Schroeder said. "China's dominance is becoming a bigger issue because of the growing renewables capacity on Western grids and the increased likelihood of a prolonged and serious confrontation between China and the West," he said. Since 2019, the US has restricted Huawei's access to US technology, accusing the company of activities contrary to national security, which Huawei denies. Chinese companies are required by law to cooperate with China's intelligence agencies, giving the government potential control over Chinese-made inverters connected to foreign grids, experts said. While Huawei decided to leave the US inverter market in 2019 - the year its 5G telecoms equipment was banned - it remains a dominant supplier elsewhere. Huawei declined to comment. In Europe, exercising control over just 3 to 4 gigawatts of energy could cause widespread disruption to electricity supplies, experts said. The European Solar Manufacturing Council estimates that over 200 GW of European solar power capacity is linked to inverters made in China - equivalent to more than 200 nuclear power plants. At the end of last year, there were 338 GW of installed solar power in Europe, according to industry association SolarPower Europe. "If you remotely control a large enough number of home solar inverters, and do something nefarious at once, that could have catastrophic implications to the grid for a prolonged period of time," said Uri Sadot, cybersecurity program director at Israeli inverter manufacturer SolarEdge. STRATEGIC DEPENDENCIES Other countries such as Lithuania and Estonia, acknowledge the threats to energy security. In November, the Lithuanian government passed a law blocking remote Chinese access to solar, wind and battery installations above 100 kilowatts - by default restricting the use of Chinese inverters. Energy minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said this could be extended to smaller rooftop solar installations. Estonia's Director General of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Kaupo Rosin, said the country could be at risk of blackmail from China if it did not ban Chinese technology in crucial parts of the economy, such as solar inverters. Estonia's Ministries of Defence and Climate declined to comment when asked if they had taken any action. In Britain, the government's review of Chinese renewable energy technology in the energy system - due to be concluded in the coming months - includes looking at inverters, a person familiar with the matter said. In November, solar power inverters in the US and elsewhere were disabled from China, highlighting the risk of foreign influence over local electricity supplies and causing concern among government officials, three people familiar with the matter said. Reuters was unable to determine how many inverters were switched off or the extent of disruption to grids. The DOE declined to comment on the incident. The incident led to a commercial dispute between inverter suppliers Sol-Ark and Deye, the people said. "Sol-Ark does not comment on vendor relationships, including any relationship with Deye, nor does it have any control over inverters that are not branded Sol-Ark, as was the case in the November 2024 situation you referenced," a Sol-Ark spokesperson said. Deye did not respond to requests for comment. The energy sector is trailing other industries such as telecoms and semiconductors, where regulations have been introduced in Europe and the US to mitigate China's dominance. Security analysts say this is partly because decisions about whether to secure energy infrastructure are mostly dictated by the size of any installation. Household solar or battery storage systems fall below thresholds where security requirements typically kick-in, they said, despite now contributing a significant share of power on many Western grids. NATO, the 32-country Western security alliance, said China's efforts to control member states' critical infrastructure - including inverters - were intensifying.
