Ming Yang builds European firewall after UK blocks offshore wind turbines

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Ming Yang Europe firewall move

Highlights

Ming Yang is creating independent European legal entities and IT systems to address UK and EU national security concerns over Chinese law access.
The UK blocked Ming Yang turbines from British offshore wind farms, halting a £1.5 billion Scottish factory and potential 1,500 jobs.
Despite Ming Yang turbines being 30%–40% cheaper than Western rivals, European policymakers face pressure to prioritize data sovereignty and grid security.

European structure aims to address security concerns

As reported by the Financial Times, Ming Yang is setting up separate European legal entities with independent governance and IT systems after the UK said in March it would not support the use of the company’s turbines in British offshore wind farms following a national security assessment.

The Chinese manufacturer says the restructuring is designed to place data beyond the reach of Chinese law and respond to concerns that its equipment could be used to gather sensitive information or disrupt electricity supplies. The company has followed legal advice from DLA Piper to create structures intended to shield European customers from China’s National Intelligence Law, which requires companies to co-operate with state intelligence agencies.

Philipp Pfefferle, Ming Yang’s head of public affairs, says the UK decision has pushed the company to work harder on cyber security and data security concerns. He says Ming Yang Europe does not have direct access to the turbines, because access runs through the developer, and adds there is no access from China into the company’s European organisation or into wind farm data.

Pfefferle also says a separate European setup is not enough on its own, and that the business must be able to demonstrate governance distinct from its Chinese parent. The company is also forming a joint venture with Octopus Energy, with Ming Yang providing turbines and the UK energy retailer supplying software and control systems, while the partners explore onshore turbines tailored for the UK market.

Cost advantage meets political resistance in Europe

The UK decision also stopped Ming Yang’s plans for a £1.5 billion factory in Scotland, a project that would have created up to 1,500 jobs. Pfefferle does not comment on the timing or ownership structure of the Octopus venture, but says the aim is to establish a company compliant with European cyber security and data protection rules.

European governments are trying to balance renewable energy expansion with security concerns over Chinese equipment that can potentially be monitored or controlled remotely. Chinese wind turbines are typically 30% to 40% cheaper than western equivalents, according to consultancy Rystad, giving developers a strong commercial incentive even as policymakers weigh strategic risks.

Michal Meidan, head of China Energy Research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, says the political problem is that Chinese companies are bound by Chinese law to transfer data when required. She says it is extremely unlikely a Chinese company would take the drastic step of cutting off a foreign wind farm, but adds that an implicit threat remains. Other Chinese groups have taken similar steps to distance foreign operations from Beijing, including TikTok, which set up UK and Irish legal entities with local responsibility for European users.

Our earlier article on the surge in cybersecurity funding highlighted how investor appetite stayed strong as larger late-stage rounds lifted total capital raised despite fewer deals overall. It also noted that AI-driven and identity-security companies led fundraising and that consolidation accelerated through big-ticket acquisitions, underscoring how rising security concerns are reshaping corporate strategy and capital allocation.

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