作者：Tom Shoesmith 硅谷办公室 金杜律师事务所

美国海外投资委员会（CFIUS）审查通过一项在美国得克萨斯州新建投资的风电厂项目，该项目由GH America Energy投建，这是一家上海证券交易所上市公司广汇能源的子公司。该项目位于临近墨西哥边境的Val Verde县，同样坐落于该县的有劳克林空军基地。

这一项目属于新建投资项目，本不属于CFIUS法规下受到审查的“受管辖交易”。但是，该项目应受到《美国联邦法规》第31卷第801部分的海外对美不动产投资相关法规的规制。该等法规主要关注相关不动产是否临近敏感国家安全设施或装置。该项目距劳克林空军基地不足50英里（约80km）。虽然劳克林空军基地是美国最大的空军训练基地，但并不属于CFIUS法规下不动产交易相关规定中列明的敏感美国设施。该项目需CFIUS认定相关风电场对美国国家安全没有构成任何风险或风险程度可以接受，方可通过审查。

首先报道该项目通过审查的是一家CFIUS风控与合规咨询公司Kaerus LLC的Albert Schultz。据Foreign Policy上周报道，GH America将被要求消除其风力涡轮机可能对在劳克林基地之外运行的低空飞行训练路线的影响。根据该等报道，相关风险控制的协议细节可能仍待制定。

该文引用Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX)对项目何以通过审查提出疑问。当地显然也对项目可能对野生动物和地方活动（如狩猎）产生的影响表示担忧。

风电场和其他可再生能源项目对于美国能源基础设施的发展至关重要，这使得相关海外投资项目既受欢迎也成隐忧。十多年前，奥巴马政府曾要求Ralls Corp对一项建于俄勒冈州的风电场撤资，相关风电场临近一海军武器系统训练设施场地。此后，其他中资能源项目均通过CFIUS审查。

该项目释放出一个积极信号，表明尽管在两国言语交锋的当下，在对美国经济重要的项目领域，如果双方能够制定计划合理解决对美国国家安全的潜在担忧，交易仍有可能达成。

Tom Shoesmith, 硅谷办公室

tom.shoesmith@us.kwm.com | +1 (650) 888-2611

 

60-Second CFIUS|CFIUS Clears Chinese Wind Farm Deal

CFIUS has cleared a greenfield wind farm project in Texas, to be built by GH America Energy, a subsidiary of Shanghai-listed Guanghui Energy Co., Ltd. The project is in Val Verde County, along the Mexico border. Val Verde County is also home to Laughlin Air Force Base.

As a greenfield investment, the deal would not have been subject to review as a “covered transaction” under the CFIUS regulations. However, it would have been subject to the regulations governing foreign investment in US real property, 31 CFR Part 801. Those regulations focus primarily on whether the real property is proximate to sensitive national security facilities or installations. In this case, the project is within 50 miles of Laughlin Air Force Base. Even though Laughlin is the largest pilot training base in the US, it is not on the list of sensitive US facilities contained in the CFIUS CFIUS regulations on real estate transactions. To clear the deal, CFIUS must have concluded that the wind farm posed either no risk, or an acceptable risk to US national security.

The clearance was first brought to our attention by Albert Schultz at Kaerus LLC, a CFIUS mitigation and compliance consulting firm. It was reported last week in Foreign Policy, which noted that GH America will be required to mitigate the impact its wind turbines could have on low-level flight training routes operating out of Laughlin. It is possible, based on press reports, that the details of the mitigation agreement are still being worked out.

The article quotes Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) as questioning why the project was cleared. Local interests apparently have also expressed concern about the impact on wildlife and recreation in the area, including hunting.

Wind farms and other renewable energy projects are critical to US energy infrastructure development, which makes them both welcome and a source of potential concern when backed by foreign investors. Over ten years ago, the Obama Administration required Ralls Corp to divest its interest in a wind farm being constructed in Oregon, near the site of a naval weapons systems training facility. Since then other China-backed energy projects have cleared CFIUS.

This project is an encouraging sign that, where a project is important to the US economy, and the parties are able to work out an arrangement to reasonably address any possible US national security concerns, deals can still be done despite the rhetoric between the two countries.