UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has faced calls to block plans by Mingyang to build a turbine factory in Scotland.
He said the government was “alive to the challenges” of economic security after being urged to pause the proposal “on national security grounds” by Scottish National Party MP Stewart McDonald at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday.
McDonald said a review was needed following “widely shared concerns about the involvement of hostile states such as China in the UK’s critical national energy infrastructure”.
Sunak declined to comment on individual cases including Mingyang but said the UK had taken “firm steps” to screen transactions and foreign direct investment through the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
He told the House of Commons the legislation had been used to prevent involvement by China’s state-owned nuclear company in the delivery of new nuclear power stations.
Sunak added: “The hon. Gentleman can rest assured that we are alive to the challenges and have passed laws that give us the powers to protect against them.”
It comes just weeks after the proposal by the Chinese OEM to build a turbine facility at an undisclosed location in Scotland was added to a list of 10 supply chain projects selected for priority assessment under the Scottish offshore wind energy council’s Strategic Investment Model (SOWEC SIM).
MingYang was asked to comment.