{"id":341378,"date":"2024-09-03T07:19:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T05:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=341378"},"modified":"2024-09-03T07:19:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T05:19:04","slug":"megabattery-project-run-by-former-chinese-diplomat-approved-after-national-security-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=341378","title":{"rendered":"Megabattery project run by former Chinese diplomat approved after national security\u00a0review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

h\/t Philip Bratby<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Letting China loose on the power grid! What could go wrong?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A project led by a former Chinese diplomat to build one of Britain\u2019s biggest battery storage facilities has been given the green light after a national security review.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, last week approved a deal for a joint venture to develop an 80-megawatt storage plant near Grimsby.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal is financed by the US giant BlackRock and KX Power, a UK-registered asset manager run by a former Chinese diplomat and with links to Chinese investors.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was reviewed under national security laws but allowed through with minor conditions, according to a Government notice. It is one of the first national security reviews decided by the Government since Labour came to power.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A security notice published last week said that the Government had required KXP to notify the Cabinet Office if it changes the power \u201cofftaker\u201d \u2013 the party buying power from the site \u2013 which would also be subject to restrictions around data sharing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KX Power describes itself as \u201ca leading developer and asset manager of utility scale energy storage\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its joint venture with BlackRock has said it plans to build up to two gigawatt-hours of storage capacity, which would make it one of the country\u2019s largest operators of grid batteries.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KX Power is run by Zhe Zhang, a former Goldman Sachs banker who previously worked for China\u2019s Ministry of Commerce.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to an SEC filing, Mr Zhang worked for the department in Europe for 14 years before working in Goldman\u2019s Beijing office, where he \u201cled multiple overseas acquisitions by Chinese state-owned enterprises and listed companies\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KX Power does not list its investors, and UK filings identify its overseas parent entities as controlling the company.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One shareholder is a British Virgin Islands company called Infinity-Star Holdings. US stock market filings list Infinity Star as potentially being subject to national security scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews foreign transactions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Executives at KX Power are also listed as working at Still Waters Green Technology (SWGT), a renewable energy investor owned by Hong Kong investor Sift Capital.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sift Capital<\/em><\/a>, which is regulated by authorities in Hong Kong and China, was also founded by Dr Zhang. Its website says it has \u201cstrategic partnership[s] with Chinese sovereign wealth funds and state-owned enterprises\u201d. It is registered at the same London address as KX Power.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sift Capital also has a joint venture with Everbright, the state-owned investment giant. Stephen Markscheid, the former head of GE Capital in Asia, previously worked as KX Power\u2019s chairman, while its executives include renewable energy and investment veterans.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

National security laws introduced by the previous government have seen a slew of Chinese deals blocked. The majority of the 15 deals blocked, reversed or allowed through with conditions during the law\u2019s first year involved Chinese companies.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, <\/em>has vowed to overhaul relations with China<\/em><\/a>, and has reportedly been planning to visit the country.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/business\/2024\/08\/31\/chinese-backed-megabattery-project-approved-security-review<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not sure what is more scary. Putting the idiot Miliband in charge of energy, or Lammy in charge of relations with China!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But leaving the security aspects aside, the key bit of the Telegraph is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As usual the MSM make the thing sound huge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality however, 160 MWh is only enough to power the UK for about ten seconds, quite literally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this BlackRock will want their \u00a3200m back, along with a nice fat return on capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CORRECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article has been corrected to read \u201cten seconds\u201d, instead of one second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not sure what is more scary. Putting the idiot Miliband in charge of energy, or Lammy in charge of relations with China!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":341384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818341,691829913,691830449,691821105],"class_list":{"0":"post-341378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-energy-industry","10":"tag-megabattery-project","11":"tag-national-security","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/01200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1qO6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":238203,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=238203","url_meta":{"origin":341378,"position":0},"title":"China to accelerate approval of new coal projects to ensure energy supply","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/01\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"China reiterated its focus on energy security on Wednesday, vowing to ensure the supply of energy and electricity, coordinate resources and accelerate approval of new coal projects, while asking coal enterprises to expand production as peak season approaches.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-228.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-228.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-228.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-228.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-228.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":428928,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=428928","url_meta":{"origin":341378,"position":1},"title":"Secret No More: Miliband Releases Full China Clean Energy MoU After Months of Pressure","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/03\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Ed Miliband, the UK's Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, regarding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and he signed with China in March 2025 during a visit to Beijing. 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