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Lithuania has decided to tighten its cybersecurity laws, banning manufacturers from countries deemed national security threats, including China, from remotely accessing management systems of solar, wind, and storage facilities. The European Solar Manufacturing Council has backed the move.
The Lithuanian parliament has passed legislation blocking Chinese manufacturers from remotely accessing the country’s solar, wind, and storage facilities.
“Article 733: Security Requirements for the Control Systems of Electricity Devices” aims to strengthen security measures for electricity generation and information management systems against nations classified as threats to Lithuania’s national security under its national security strategy.
With China included on the list, the law prohibits Chinese manufacturers from accessing systems they supply in Lithuania, preventing them from remotely managing power parameters or turning devices on or off.
The legislation applies to information management systems and security measures in solar and wind power plants and energy storage devices with installed capacities exceeding 100 kW.
It will take effect for new projects on May 1, 2025, while existing solar, wind, and energy storage facilities must comply by May 1, 2026.
The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) voiced support for the changes.
“We are expecting and looking forward to such kinds of decisions to be replicated in the other EU Member States,” the the council said in a statement. “The application of net-zero industry act resilience criterion to all solar and wind power plants and storage devices, irrespective of the installed power capacities, is a good opportunity to prevent our information management systems from the remote controllability risks.”
A position paper from SolarPower Europe, published in July, called for the continent to establish a harmonized cybersecurity baseline across the solar sector in response to growing concerns over cyberattacks.
Lithuania had a total of 1,165 MW of installed solar by the end of 2023, according to figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). |
