Solar power security: risk analysis ordered over Chinese inverters in Flanders

In the past six months, 100,000 new inverters were added in Flanders, more than half of them were of Chinese manufacture. The figure comes from distribution system operator Fluvius that conducted a preliminary enquiry. The figures do not show how much energy passes through Chinese manufactured inverters.

All this was reason enough for Flemish energy minister Zuhal Demir  to ask grid operators Fluvius and Elia and Flemish energy watchdog VREG for a total inventory.

"Preferably as soon as possible," she says. "It would have been better if they had done this already, but they haven't. The question has been asked, and ideally, I will receive the results the day after tomorrow" said an optimistic Ms Demir.

Demir acknowledges it is crucial to have insight into the share of Chinese inverters in solar panel installations in Belgium - and by extension in Europe. "This is about our energy supply, which is fundamental. We have to be careful when it comes to China."

Guidance on TikTok, but not on inverters

Ms Demir has also asked federal justice minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Flemish liberal/Open VLD) for the state security service to conduct a risk assessment. "Following the example of America and Australia, where they were already doing this in August," she clarified. "We are given the federal government’s view on TikTok, then they should definitely look at the energy supply too."

State security is in contact the federal crisis centre to agree how the requested threat and risk assessment can be carried out.

Justice minister Van Tigchelt stuck to a brief, written response for now. "Given the new geopolitical context, we are showing greater concern for the security of our critical infrastructure including the power grid," he says. "The potential vulnerabilities revealed by this study will be included in the security services' analysis to see how we can make our society and our scientific and economic potential resilient to these risks."

'Electricity grid is sufficiently protected'

Federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Flemish green) says she was not surprised by the news: "We have been working for over a year to increase cyber security for our energy infrastructure”.

"Thirty-three critical infrastructures are already constantly being monitored and we are also looking at whether we should expand that list further." When asked whether solar panel inverters are included in that list, the minister did not elaborate. She makes the case that there is no need to be worried and that our electricity grid is sufficiently protected.

Minister Van der Straeten did also stress the importance of keeping the wind energy sector in European hands as much as possible. "Two of the three manufacturers making wind turbines for the North Sea are European, the third is American. So we can get ahead of this”.