Will Xinjiang & China produce solar panels?

Xinjiang will produce about half of the polysilicon in these panels, based on BNEF projections, and China will account for more than 80% of the overall supply. But consumers can’t track the provenance of their panels, since raw materials from multiple factories mix together along the solar supply chain.

Could Xinjiang's labor program lead to the solar industry?

The veil over Xinjiang has made the search for answers about the links between China’s labor program and its solar industry a job for outside researchers—who, it turns out, have found potentially telling details just by combing through public records. Residents stop for a chat nearby the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar in downtown Urumqi.

Does Klump visit polysilicon factories in Xinjiang?

Klump has never been to the polysilicon factories in Xinjiang, as CEA clients only recently began making requests for visits and haven’t contracted a trip yet, even as published reports about other industries in the region have made clear the risk of abuses.

What happens inside Xinjiang's coal-fired power plants?

The only structures that rise up among miles of rolling snow-covered fields are the chimneys of coal-fired power plants, belching white smoke. Almost no one outside China knows what goes on inside these factories, or two others elsewhere in Xinjiang that together produce nearly half the world’s polysilicon supply.

Does Xinjiang produce polysilicon?

Xinjiang produces about 45% of the world's supply of the key component, polysilicon, the research by the UK's Sheffield Hallam University says. It says the material is obtained under a massive system of coercion, a claim denied by the Chinese authorities. The report urges top panel makers to source the component elsewhere.

How will PV panel waste impact the future?

As the global PV market increases, so will the volume of decommissioned PV panels, and large amounts of annual waste are anticipated by the early 2030s. Growing PV panel waste presents a new environmental challenge, but also unprecedented opportunities to create value and pursue new economic avenues.