By Entorno | 2025-06-18

GUATEMALA CITY/BOGOTÁ -- Latin America's growing dependence on Chinese-made solar panels has triggered fresh concerns among security specialists following the discovery of unauthorized communication devices embedded in solar inverters in the United States.

The revelations, first reported by Reuters in May, suggest these components, critical to solar energy systems, could be manipulated remotely, posing a threat to national security. In Latin America, where Chinese companies dominate the renewable energy sector, fears are mounting that similar risks may already be present.

"Anything is possible when it comes to China's presence in Latin America," said to Entorno Pedro Trujillo, a Guatemalan defense analyst and former director of the Institute of Political Studies at Francisco Marroquín University in Guatemala City. "We've already seen spy balloons overfly the region, Huawei's attempt to control telecoms and efforts to manage strategic ports."

In this context, "China's energy push may also serve as a Trojan horse for espionage or sabotage," he said.

The inverters, largely manufactured in China, connect solar panels and wind turbines to national power grids. They are used in battery systems, electric vehicle chargers and heat pumps. If compromised, they could disrupt the electricity supply or damage critical infrastructure, say analysts.

The widespread installation of Chinese inverters poses "a clear continental threat, first to the US, but equally to Latin American nations now deeply embedded in China's supply chain," said Trujillo.

The security debate comes amid rising diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Guatemala, following President Bernardo Arévalo's visit to Taiwan and Japan, an act that prompted strong pushback from China.

Solar expansion, Chinese influence

Colombia, one of the region's fastest-growing solar markets, stands out as a key area of Chinese investment. Trina Solar, a Chinese company among the world's top solar panel manufacturers, has ramped up operations there.

In the Colombian Meta department, it operates the Bosques de los Llanos 4 and 5 projects, with a combined capacity of 52.4MW and investments exceeding $3.4 million. In 2019, the firm won three government contracts in Colombia's first renewable energy auction, totaling almost 350MW.

By the end of 2024, Colombia's installed solar capacity reached 1,928MW, accounting for 9% of national output, according to a recent report from the Stockholm Environment Institute.

"Solar is the fastest-growing segment of Colombia's energy sector," said Ignacio Acero, a local academic, who said this trend makes the country an increasingly attractive destination for global photovoltaic firms.

Communication or control?

Remote connectivity is a standard feature in modern solar infrastructure, Carlos Rivera, a Colombian renewable energy engineer, told Entorno.

"These systems are designed to communicate over the internet, both locally and remotely," he explained. "The issue isn't the existence of communication; it's who controls it."

If devices arrive with hidden configurations, they could be accessed by unauthorized actors. "That's where the real danger lies," he said.

To mitigate risks, he advocates for stricter oversight and regulations ensuring any data transmission remains under the exclusive control of the system owner or operator.

As Chinese-backed solar infrastructure continues to expand across Latin America, regional authorities now face a complex challenge: how to accelerate the clean energy transition without handing over control of their grids.