The U.S. government has warned that foreign-made components in solar-powered highway systems could contain hidden communications devices, including radios.
In an August 20 advisory, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) urged operators to inspect traffic cameras, road signs, weather stations, and electric vehicle chargers for hidden radios embedded in inverters and battery systems.
The advisory, first reported by Reuters, cited the discovery of undocumented cellular radios in certain foreign-manufactured power inverters and battery management systems. While their origin was not specified, many such products are manufactured in China.
According to the FHWA, these devices, if present, could be used to disrupt infrastructure or steal data.
Reuters reported in May that U.S. officials had discovered unexplained communications hardware in Chinese-made inverters and batteries. Denmark’s Green Power Denmark later disclosed similar findings in imported equipment for its grid.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington dismissed the warnings, saying it opposed “the distortion and smear of China’s achievements in the field of energy infrastructure.”
The advisory comes amid broader U.S. restrictions on Chinese technology, including new rules that will bar most Chinese-made vehicles by 2026 over data security concerns.
