00:01The European Commission will not extend its November 1 deadline for phasing out Chinese-made power inverters from EU-funded
00:08energy projects,
00:10despite calls from investors and the renewable energy industry for more time.
00:15From November 1, projects connected or due to be connected to the EU electricity grid
00:20will have to exclude high-risk suppliers or progressively switch to inverters from suppliers not deemed high-risk.
00:27The move was driven by cybersecurity concerns, particularly the risk that manufacturers could remotely access and manipulate inverters,
00:36potentially destabilizing electricity grids and triggering blackouts.
00:40But stakeholders argue that the Commission's timetable is unrealistic and could create significant financial and practical problems
00:48for renewable energy projects at a time when energy costs are soaring across the EU.
00:53The Commission, for its part, says that a viable alternative supply of non-Chinese inverters already exists
01:01and that the price of guaranteeing the security of Europe's energy infrastructure is a modest one to pay.
