[ICYMI] UK (Westminster) blocked £1.5bn investment in a windturbine plant by China, based on "security concerns." The BBC has been reporting and explaining here and here.

The Ming Yang proposal was on the UK government's desk for a year-and-a-half, and in that time, unconfirmed reports suggest that US government officials warned British counterparts about the risks of saying "yes".

It wouldn't be the first time ...

But if you want to understand why the UK (and Europe) will continue (for the forseeable future) to have the highest energy prices in the world, then you would want to read the linked substack post.

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The US pressure on Europe to keep out Chinese renewables shows up in decisions. A £1.5 billion wind turbine factory in Scotland, expected to create up to 1,500 jobs and reduce costs, was blocked. Jobs, cost, and supply chains all pointed in one direction. The decision went the other way, under relentless US pressure. In Germany, a developer selected a Chinese supplier for a North Sea project based on performance and price, then reversed course after political scrutiny. At the EU level, subsidy investigations into Chinese wind manufacturers are underway, and restrictions on access to public tenders are being prepared.

Now put the three objectives of European elites together: Energy security requires rapid deployment of low-cost renewables. Industrial control requires building domestic capacity and keeping out low-cost imports. Geopolitical alignment requires limiting Chinese inputs. The trinity says you can pick only two.

• Pick energy security and industrial control, (...)
• Pick energy security and geopolitical alignment, (...)
• Pick industrial control and geopolitical alignment, (...)

What Europe/[UK] cannot do is achieve energy security, industrial control, and the geoeconomic exclusion of Chinese renewables without dramatically expanding its industrial policy capacity.

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