Germany plans cyber security scrutiny of 'every wind turbine' says top energy official

Germany now considers wind and solar farms as critical infrastructure and will apply strict cyber security laws to every turbine or module, said Philipp Nimmermann, its state secretary for energy.

“We believe that energy infrastructure is critical infrastructure,” the secretary working in the climate and energy ministry told an opening press conference of the WindEnergy Hamburg event Tuesday, adding the government will protect it at the highest level.

“We have various cyber security laws, which we will apply specifically for every power plant, wind [turbine], offshore or onshore. We'll see whether those high standards will be met.

“Regarding cyber security and data security, there should be no way that a foreign country or anyone else outside of Germany can influence the steerability of a [wind turbine] or even a solar park.”

No data should be allowed to leave the country or Europe, “because that's private data which can be used” only when it is “beneficial for society”, he added.

The secretary made his comments in the context of a discussion of what can be done to ensure the wind sector doesn’t follow the fate of the German solar manufacturing industry, which was pushed out of business a decade earlier by Chinese competition that was backed by cheap state financing and subsidies.

Nimmermann added that a new law for critical infrastructure also is hardening standards for critical security issues further.

As well as the cyber security legislation, the secretary also pointed to the probe by the European Commission into financial subsidies to Chinese turbine OEMs that is currently ongoing.

“So, everyone should be aware that if you bid for a specific wind area, or implement specific turbines or PV, these high standards will have to be fulfilled by the time of installation, not by the time of bidding,” Nimmermann concluded.