The Chinese Government Is Not Using a U.S. Wind Farm For Espionage
The Claim
The Chinese government is using a U.S. wind farm project as a cover for spying upon a nearby U.S. Air Force base and hacking into America’s energy infrastructure.
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Emerging story
Recently, a number of social media users have been posting about an alleged major threat to U.S. national security. The nature of this threat is the purchase of a ranch in Texas, the Morning Star Ranch, which is located 200 miles northwest of San Antonio.
Many have been concerned about the intentions of the purchaser, the Chinese businessman Sun Guangxin, who some claim to have been a former general in the Chinese military. They believe that Guangxin is acting on behalf of the Chinese government.
People are concerned with Guangxin’s aims to convert part of the ranch into a wind farm by erecting 700-foot high wind turbines, which they believe will actually be used to spy on the nearby Laughlin Air Force Base. They also believe that the wind farm, and a solar farm, would be used to hack into America’s energy infrastructure, allowing the Chinese to disrupt the power grid.
These claims appear to have originated in December, 2020, when chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management, Kyle Bass, posted about the purchase on Twitter. These tweets have gained tens of thousands of interactions to date.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that the wind farm project will not go ahead, making continuing allegations of a Chinese wind farm posing a national security threat moot.
On May 26th, News 4 San Antonio posted an update regarding the legality of the wind farm project. The update stated that the Texas State Legislature had passed the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, which prevents companies that are controlled by China, Russia and North Korea, or their citizens, from running projects that affect the power, cyber security, communications, hazardous waste or water treatment operations of Texas.
Governor Greg Abbot has since signed the Lone Star Protection Act into law, effectively ending the wind farm project. Despite this action, several conspiracy theory websites are still posting updates claiming that the project will go ahead, which is incorrect.
The claims that Sun Guangxin is a spy for the Chinese government are currently unsubstantiated. Some of the sources that claim that Guangxin is a government agent also claim that he was previously a general in the Chinese army, suggesting that he was one of the most senior people in the military. However, we could find no source that confirms that Guangxin ever reached such a high rank. In fact, some sources claim that Guangxin never reached such a high rank. Additionally, a spokesperson for one of Guangxin’s companies has stated that he is not a former general.
Therefore, the claim that the Chinese government is creating a wind farm in Texas to spy on America is false, as the project has been blocked by the Texas government. Prior to the legislation, the claim would have been rated as suspicious, as there is no proof that Guangxin is a government agent, and his former rank among the Chinese military appears to have been exaggerated.
