Champions of accelerated solar power worldwide face a previously overlooked challenge: the industry’s supply chains depend heavily on Xinjiang, a Chinese region, the US government and others say it is the scene of genocide against local ethnic minorities, including of the Muslim majority. Uighur inhabitants.
About half of the world’s polysilicon supply, a key ingredient in most solar panels, comes from this part of northwest China, where human rights groups and U.S. officials say China runs an extensive network of internment camps that the U.S. claims that they owned more than 1 million Uighurs, a Muslim minority group.
Some in the renewable energy industry say they fear that polysilicon and other essential materials from Xinjiang could be linked to forced labor. And the lack of unrestricted access to Xinjiang means that it is difficult to make sure that suppliers are not somehow linked to human rights abuses.
Global pressure to reduce trade with Xinjiang is growing. Both the US and the European Union are weighing legislation that could lead to a ban on imports of several products from the region, including polysilicon. The United States has already banned imports of cotton and tomatoes produced in Xinjiang in January.
Many Western solar companies are already struggling to reduce exposure to the region, fearing that their industry will continue to be highlighted.