The British Labour government has blocked Chinese firm Ming Yang’s plans to build a 1.5 billion pound ($1.9 billion) wind turbine factory in Scotland due to national security concerns.
On March 25, the UK government said it could not support the use of the company’s turbines in offshore wind projects. The decision effectively bars Ming Yang, a major turbine manufacturer, from supplying equipment to UK offshore developments.
“Industry have sought our view on the use of these turbines in British waters and in our energy system,” a UK government spokesperson said.
“After careful consideration, [the] Government’s view is that we cannot support the use of them in UK offshore wind projects.
“We will always act to protect our national security, and we are committed to strengthening and prioritising resilient and sustainable offshore wind supply chains.
“We welcome investment from China where it’s in our national interest—as demonstrated by significant inward investment during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Beijing. We will continue to take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to our relationship with China, cooperating where we can, whilst protecting our security and resilience.”
In October 2025, Ming Yang announced plans to “create Britain’s largest, and first fully integrated, wind turbine manufacturing facility to be located in Scotland.”
It said that it would invest up to 1.5 billion pounds in a new wind turbine factory for offshore and floating offshore projects for the UK and for export.
Ming Yang said it had “held extensive discussions with the UK and Scottish governments over the last two years on its plans as well as holding detailed commercial discussions with Great British Energy, the National Wealth Fund, the Scottish National Investment Bank, the Crown Estate and UK Export Finance.”
Zhang Chuanwei, founder and chairman of Ming Yang Group, is a delegate to China’s National People’s Congress, part of the Chinese Communist Party-led political system.
The 50GW of capacity is almost equivalent to the UK’s peak electricity demand, according to the Energy Networks Association.
On the manufacturing side, China accounted for more than half of global wind turbine manufacturing in 2022, according to a 2025 report by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
The Trump administration raised concerns with the UK government about Ming Yang last year.
A U.S. official told the Financial Times in June 2025 that Washington had warned London about what it said were national security risks attached to allowing Ming Yang to build a plant in the UK.
In a statement on March 25, Labour MP and Business and Trade Committee Chairman Liam Byrne said the “government is right to act.”
“Our Committee has consistently warned that in a more unstable world, where China has too often resorted to the tactics of economic coercion, we simply can’t surrender control of our energy supply chain in ways that create the risk of new and unwise dependencies,” the statement said.
“Our economic security reviews have warned time and time again that over-reliance on China in strategic sectors leaves Britain exposed to coercion, disruption, and unfair competition.”
He added that “the test now is consistency—enforcing clear rules on Chinese investment, strengthening the sovereign capabilities we need at home and getting tougher on Chinese dumping of over-subsidised goods that undermine British firms.”
The Scottish government criticised the decision. While Scotland is devolved, most of its energy policy is largely reserved for Westminster, giving the UK government the final say on major decisions.
First Minister of Scotland and SNP Leader John Sweeney said in a March 25 post on X that he was “deeply disappointed that the UK Labour government has blocked Ming Yang’s investment in our renewables industry—putting up to 1500 Scottish jobs at risk.”
“At the very moment we should be building clean energy, they are sabotaging Scotland’s industrial future,” Sweeney said.
A spokesperson for Ming Yang said, “We are disappointed by the UK government’s decision not to allow Ming Yang’s world-leading technology to be used.”
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