Senator demands Pentagon shut down Texas wind farm linked to Chinese billionaire over fears it could spy on nearby Air Force base

A top Texas senator has demanded that the Pentagon shut down a large wind farm linked to a Chinese billionaire, in what DailyMail.com says is a major threat to national security.

John Cornyn said former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) captain Sun Guangxin is “likely planning” to use dozens of 700-foot-tall wind turbines to spy on a nearby air base “at the behest of the Chinese government.”

In a July 10 letter to Department of Defense (DoD) Director Steve Sample, obtained by DailyMail.com, Senator Cornyn calls for the project to be “terminated” until the Senate can conduct a full investigation into the threat it poses to the US military.

Mr. Sun sparked anger among livestock farmers and politicians after he spent an estimated $110 million on 320,000 acres of land in Val Verde County, Texas, between 2016 and 2018.

Sun sold the rights to the wind farm and underlying land to a Spanish company last year, but there are concerns he may have retained a stake in the property, with sources citing a deal he struck with a French company that operates the Rocksprings wind farm (pictured) on land he owns, from which he earns royalties

Texas Sen. John Cornyn warned in a letter to the Pentagon that Sun “likely” still has “influence and involvement in the project” and called for an urgent investigation

That included a 15,000-acre ranch where he planned to build 46 towering wind turbines, 30 miles from Laughlin Air Force Base.

The project has long raised fears of an espionage plot, with former intelligence officials highlighting Sun’s close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In 2022, it was blocked from the Texas power grid under a state law that bars companies controlled by hostile countries from accessing critical infrastructure.

This eventually forced Mr Sun, through his US subsidiary GH America, to sell the rights to develop the Blue Hills Wind Farm to Spanish energy company Greenalia in June last year for an estimated $15 million, allowing the project to proceed.

But in his letter to the Defense Department, Senator Cornyn cites “the belief that the Chinese are still involved” in the project.

“We believe that Mr. Sun financed the purchase of the land with Greenalia and likely has influence and involvement in the project,” he added.

It is unwise and short-sighted to allow this to happen “without fully understanding that there is an ongoing connection with the Chinese,” he said.

A 2019 report commissioned by former intelligence officials found that Sun’s ties to the CCP could provide Beijing with an opportunity to leverage his business interests for national security purposes.

His close ties to the Chinese state are also described in the book Eurasian Crossings: A History of Xinjiang by James Millward, professor at Georgetown University.

The book claims that in the 1990s, Sun opened a CCP branch within his own company and recruited a party secretary from a state-owned enterprise to head the branch.

His political connections enabled him to acquire state-owned companies, Millward wrote.

DailyMail.com has learned that Sun is now looking to sell his entire Texas property empire following negative reactions from locals.

Sun was born into a working-class family in Xinjiang province, but has amassed an estimated fortune of $2.9 billion thanks to his close political and military connections

Sun’s unprecedented land grab means he owns 7 percent of all land in Val Verde County through his subsidiaries Brazos Highland and Harvest Texas. The site of his proposed wind farm is northeast of the county, but he already earns royalties from wind turbines operated on his land by a French company in Rocksprings

Sun bought more than 130,000 acres of farmland in Texas between 2016 and 2018 for an estimated $110 million. Pictured: The gates to its headquarters in the region, Morning Star

Pictured: Sun’s main living quarters in Val Verde County, Morning Star Ranch

Senator Cornyn’s intervention comes after GH America sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas [ERCOT, the state grid] Last month it claimed that using state law to block the project was unconstitutional.

In a 21-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the company argued that the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act violated the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The documents state that “the authority to deal with threats to national security” and “regulate foreign commerce is the domain of the federal government.”

GH America is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages and wants the court to “nullify” ERCOT’s decision to deny it access to the state grid.

A company spokesperson told DailyMail.com that Greenalia “has acquired the Blue Hills Project and underlying land and is not subject to the supervision or control of GHAE or its subsidiaries.”

“With respect to the alleged “threats to U.S. national security” referenced in Senator Cornyn’s letter, the Blue Hills project was thoroughly reviewed and ultimately approved by the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. [CFIUS] “In 2022,” the spokesperson added.

The project was carefully reviewed and approved by the U.S. Air Force precisely because GH America agreed to help alleviate national security concerns arising from its proximity to Laughlin Air Force Base.

“There is no factual basis for any alleged threats to national security from the Blue Hills Project or any other project that GH America chooses to engage in. These projects are all subject to constant oversight by CFIUS, including the U.S. Department of Defense.”

There are growing fears that Chinese companies are locating near US military sites.

Last year, the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, vetoed a proposal by China’s Fufeng Group to build a $700 million flour mill. The U.S. Air Force, whose base is 12 miles away, had opposed the project on national security grounds.