Jury: Chinese Firm Conspired to Steal Renewable Energy Secrets from US

China might be the king of renewable energy, but they’re not above gaining an edge through good old-fashioned espionage. Beijing-based Sinovel was recently found guilty of stealing trade secrets from AMSC, an erstwhile partner and renewable energy provider.

Back in 2011, Sinovel placed a large order with AMSC to the tune of $800 million. But instead of honoring the deal, the Chinese company bribed an AMSC employee to share proprietary source, causing a massive devaluing of the American firm’s assets (>$1 billion) and the loss of 700 jobs.

A Wisconsin court found Sinovel guilty of “conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud.”

Meanwhile, President Trump just approved a massive tariff on imported solar panels, an act that could clobber domestic solar installers and China, itself, which provides many of the low-cost panels hawked by US salespeople.

And given China’s dominance in renewable energy, this robbery is a bit gratuitous. As of 2016, China had more than double the installed wind power capacity (in MW) as the US, with 168,732 MW vs. 82,184. And we’ve already discussed Beijing’s supremacy in solar panel manufacturing.

"Sinovel nearly destroyed an American company by stealing its intellectual property," Assistant Attorney General John Cronan said Wednesday.

Read more here: http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/25/technology/china-us-sinovel-theft-conviction/index.html