U.S. 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 U.S 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.
[…]
Hmm I have solar panels and battery backup on my house. A few months ago, one of the inverters failed and was replaced under warranty. I still have the defective one. I’d love to take it apart and try to find out if it’s compromised, but I’m not sure I’d know what to look for. Anyone here have specific knowledge in this area? Hit me up!
Spain Portugal outage anyone ?
Spain probes cyber weaknesses at small power plants after blackout (archived Financial Times article)
Senior government officials [of Spain] have “concerns” about the robustness of cyber defences at small and medium-sized power facilities, notably the solar and wind farms that have proliferated as Spain became a global renewables leader, said one person familiar with the matter.
Spain has yet to identify the root cause of the collapse of the Iberian power grid on April 28 and has not discounted a cyber attack. “As of today, we are not ruling out any possibilities. Everything remains on the table,” said Spain’s energy and environment ministry …
Claims, no evidence provided.
