Germany Just Noticed Renewable Energy has a Cybersecurity Problem

Essay by Eric Worrall

Surely in the event of conflict China wouldn’t give their good friends Russia the keys to shutting down Europe’s electricity grid.

Germany’s cyber defence plans risk slowing the energy transition, utilities warn

Digitalisation  Technology  Policy  EU  Security

Clean Energy Wire

The German government’s plans to protect critical infrastructure against cyberattacks would slow the energy transition and undermine supply security, the country’s utilities warned. Instead of increasing cybersecurity, the plans would create “massive bureaucracy and delays for grid extensions and digitalisation”, industry associations BDEW and VKU said.

…

The energy company associations said in a joint statement they are “particularly critical of Germany going it alone without joint coordination at the European level,” as well as narrowing the market to just a few manufacturers. “This could create oligopolies, which could threaten security of supply and lead to rising prices and less innovation,” the lobby groups said.

The proposed retroactive ban on components already in use without compelling security reasons would interfere deeply with existing systems, devalue investments and cause project delays, the statement said. “In addition, the proposed notification procedure could lead to hundreds of thousands of administrative acts each year without any discernible gain in security.”

…

Read more: https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germanys-cyber-defence-plans-risk-slowing-energy-transition-utilities-warn

The risk of China leaving back door hacks in critical infrastructure has been on the radar for a while, but until recently nobody took it seriously.

No one likes to say it, but China is the cybersecurity elephant in the renewable energy room

Rachel Williamson
Aug 7, 2025

People in Australia’s renewable energy industry are only too happy to chat about their Chinese supply chain, until the subject turns to cybersecurity and then it becomes a game of “guess who”.

…

One attendee confirmed that China’s dominance of the supply chain meant that it was also seen as the principal source of cybersecurity risk. But they only said that on the proviso they not be named.

“We know that foreign, hostile actors see Australia’s energy system as a good target,” Home Affairs assistant secretary for cyber security Sophie Pearce told the small, afternoon-on-the-last-day audience.

“We know that cyber vector is the most likely means of disrupting our energy ecosystem, and I think that the energy transition raises the stakes even further. Where we’re reliant on foreign investment and foreign supply chains, lots of opportunity there, obviously.

“When there’s a dependency on jurisdictions that might require or can compel access to data or access to systems, that increases the risks.”

…

Read more: https://reneweconomy.com.au/no-one-likes-to-say-it-but-china-is-the-cybersecurity-elephant-in-the-renewable-energy-room/

Germany and Europe may be re-evaluating this risk in light of Russia’s ongoing hostility on Europe’s Eastern border, and China and Russia’s repeated assertions of a “no limits” partnership.

Installing renewables means installing lots of Chinese equipment, and trusting Chinese suppliers, because nobody else can compete with China’s use of cheap coal power to manufacture solar panels, wind turbines and critical energy infrastructure components.