China faces questions on labour used in solar panel production

The Chinese government is facing questions on how workers in the formative production lines for solar panel manufacturing are hired, after an industry association issued a joint pledge to weed out forced labour.

The Solar Energy Industries Association, a US lobby and grouping of panel manufacturers with links to a global supply chain, said that it was developing a tracing system to ensure none of the materials used are produced through forced labour.

“We hereby commit to helping ensure that the solar supply chain is free of forced labour and raising awareness within the industry on this important issue,” the association said in a joint statement which had more than 170 manufacturers append their signatures.

“To assist in these efforts, we support the development of an industry-led solar supply chain traceability protocol as a tool for identifying the source of primary raw materials and inputs and tracking their incorporation into finished products, including solar modules.”

The statement was also endorsed by some Chinese solar makers with distribution links to Kenya and Africa in general. But nearly half of the basic raw material used in the making of solar panels comes from Xinjiang region of China where Beijing has been accused of forced labour. The statement did not mention the region by name, but at least four of the world’s biggest five producers of the main raw material for solar panels come from Xinjiang.

Xinjiang, the northwestern region of China, has been a controversial subject with the US recently accusing Beijing of committing human rights atrocities, including forced labour and forced sterilisation and unlawful detentions.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington will “hold Beijing accountable for its abuses of the international system” while his predecessor Mike Pompeo had claimed Chinese products deemed produced from forced workers will be barred from entering the US.

A spokesperson from China’s Foreign Ministry, however, termed the allegations “lies”, arguing that China’s counter-terrorism programme in Xinjiang had been misunderstood.

The declaration by the lobby, however, could put pressure on solar panel makers to source costlier material elsewhere, or simply ignore calls on forced labour.

Xinjiang is the biggest source of polysilicon, the basic raw material used in making panels. It is produced from a process involving heating of sand and air, which requires lots of electricity. Xinjiang’s available green and fossil energy makes it cheaper for manufacturers to get the material from the region as it cuts energy cost overheads, according to data by Power Magazine.

Countries across the world are pushing for more green energy investment as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to conserve the environment. In Kenya, at least 200,000 homes are hooked to solar while the government has installed six main solar firms in Samburu, Kopere, Witu, Garissa and Isiolo with a capacity of about 200MW.

But it means the supply chain for those panels will have to be determined to ensure no human rights violations have been involved.

Ever since China launched what it called re-education campaigns in Xinjiang, Beijing has come under scrutiny for allegedly using the programme meant to fight violent extremism to limit rights of the Uighur Muslims living in the region.

A statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry claimed the programme had freed many locals from mental torture of extremism, making them more productive.