But half the world s supply of polysilicon now comes from China s Xinjiang region, where an estimated 1 million ethnic minorities, including Muslim Uyghurs,…
Xinjiang’s solar industry has launched an offensive charm as sanctions are clarified
A Xinjiang supplier to the world’s leading solar cell manufacturers has denied allegations of forced labor practices, as the U.S. thinks it could impose sanctions that jeopardize the dominance of China’s remote regions of the solar supply chain.
Daqo New Energy, one of Xinjiang’s largest polysilicon manufacturers, has launched a public relations campaign to address the allegations and organized a media tour last week involving the Financial Times. The campaign was the latest step in Beijing’s propaganda efforts to address human rights abuses and foreign allegations. genocide in the region.
China s Xinjiang region has evolved over the past two decades into a major production hub for many of the companies that supply the world with parts needed to build solar panels. But new research suggests that much of that work could rely on the exploitation of the region s Uyghur population and other ethnic and religious minorities, potentially tainting a significant portion of the global supply chain for a renewable energy source critical to combating the climate crisis.
The report published Friday titled In Broad Daylight: Uyghur Forced Labor and Global Solar Supply Chains presents evidence of a troubling reality: that components for clean energy may be created with dirty coal and forced labor. An advance copy of the report was shared exclusively with CNN Business. China has repeatedly denied all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
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Dive Brief:
The Solar Energy Industries Association launched a traceability tool last week, aimed at helping manufacturers and importers of solar products identify the source of a solar product s material inputs and trace the movement of these inputs throughout the supply chain.
The launch of the tool, the Solar Supply Chain Traceability Protocol, is a response to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China. The goal is for companies to implement the protocol s key principles and become better equipped to navigate U.S. import compliance obligations, the association said.
The tool also aims to provide customers with greater supply chain transparency. And it includes an independent, third-party audit mechanism to measure a company s implementation of traceability policies and procedures.
Dive Brief:
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) launched Thursday a new traceability tool aimed at helping manufacturers and importers of solar products identify the source of a solar product s material inputs and trace the movement of these inputs throughout the supply chain.
This new tool, the Solar Supply Chain Traceability Protocol, is in response to reports of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China, and the hope is that companies that implement the protocol s key principles will be better placed to navigate U.S. import compliance obligations as well as provide customers with greater supply chain transparency, SEIA said. The new protocol includes an independent third-party audit mechanism to measure a company s implementation of traceability policies and procedures.