US officials have begun to block the import of solar panels that they believe may be products of forced labor in China, and have imposed a recent ban, which may slow the construction of solar projects nationwide.
Industry executives and analysts said that at least three Chinese companies’ solar panels have been targeted in recent weeks, and a spokesperson for the Customs and Border Protection Agency confirmed via email that the agency has “multiple seizures” of the products under the import ban.
CBP imposed a ban on Hoshin Silicon in June, which produces raw materials for solar panels. The agency stated that the information it has “reasonably indicates” that Hexin who operates factories in Xinjiang, China, uses forced labor. This discovery triggered the ban because US law prohibits the import of goods made by forced workers.
The Washington Post and human rights researchers have linked Hoshin to a mandatory national labor plan for Uighurs and other minorities.
Chinese companies dominate the production of global solar panels, many of which use raw materials from Hoshin, the world’s largest metallurgical silicon producer.
According to the Biden administration, solar energy is the fastest-growing new source of power generation in the United States, and its goal is to increase it from 3% of current power generation to more than 40% by 2035.
The ban highlights the tension between the government’s human rights agenda and its efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
“We want to quickly transform our fuel into solar, wind and other renewable energy sources,” said Mark Z. Jacobson, a renewable energy expert and engineering professor at Stanford University. “Any slowdown in this transition will cause loss of life,” he added, noting that the burning of fossil fuels is the main driver of air pollution that causes 78,000 deaths in the United States each year and 7 million people worldwide.
The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees CBP, said the government remains committed to renewable energy. “However, this is very important. We will eradicate any existing forced labor. We will look for alternative products to achieve environmental impact. This is a key goal of this government,” he said in the announcement. Import ban in June.
CBP’s enforcement actions “caused a real major disruption to many planned projects and their ability to complete these projects this year. This will be very challenging and very difficult,” said First, a panel manufacturer based in the United States that does not use Chinese materials. Solar’s CEO Mark Widmar (Mark Widmar) said.
Widmar said that some customers looking for alternative suppliers contacted him because their panels were detained. He said that First Solar is building new factories in Ohio and India, but has limited capacity to fulfill new orders in the coming months.
Philip Shen, a solar energy industry analyst at Roth Capital Partners, said that his discussions with power companies and other panel buyers showed that Shanghai-based JinkoSolar was one of the worst-hit manufacturers, and CBP withheld the capacity to generate about 100 trillion The value of panel electricity in watts. According to Jacobson of Stanford University, this is enough to power about 29,000 homes each year.
Shen said in a research report that Canadian Solar, a company headquartered in Ontario with manufacturing facilities in China, and Trina Solar, headquartered in Changzhou, China, also appear to have panels detained by CBP.
These companies did not respond to requests for comment. Hoshine declined to comment on the allegations of forced labor.
The Biden government bans the import of solar panels related to forced labor in Xinjiang, China
As tensions between the United States and China escalate, CBP’s enforcement measures are just one obstacle facing Chinese solar panel manufacturers. As Congress debates the large infrastructure spending bill, some lawmakers are pushing for a ban on the use of funds for Chinese materials.
An amendment to the US$3.5 trillion budget resolution passed by the Senate this month would prevent Chinese components from participating in federally funded renewable energy projects. The Senate passed the amendment by a vote of 90 to 9.
Chinese companies dominate the solar manufacturing industry, partly because of the country’s cheap coal-fired power generation. Human rights researchers say that low cost and forced labor have also helped Chinese suppliers reduce production costs and prices.
Hoshine produces metallurgical-grade silicon at three plants in Xinjiang, and other manufacturers refine it into polysilicon, which is a key ingredient used to make panels. According to the company’s public statement and annual report, Hoshin has supplied at least eight of the world’s largest polysilicon manufacturers.
CBP officials stated that an agency investigation found two signs of forced labor in Hosine’s production process: intimidation and threats to workers, and restrictions on their movements.
The June issue of The Post showed how public documents including Chinese government propaganda and company statements detail how Hesheng participates in a state-sponsored employment program designed to allow ethnic minorities in Xinjiang to work in factories, according to researchers and former residents. These measures are a form of forced labor, and workers have no choice but to accept work.
Hexin described its employment of ethnic minority workers in Xinjiang as contributing to “national unity” and “maintaining stability.” The recruits hired through the labor trade fair organized by the state received patriotism training and political evaluation.
Western governments and human rights organizations accuse China of extensive repression of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang, including mass detention in concentration camps.
The importers of the detained team have 90 days to provide evidence to CBP that they did not use forced labor in their production to seek release, but a trade lawyer and former CBP official stated that their chances of success are “very low” “.
Elise Shibles of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg said in a recent webinar on detention: “Customs has set a high standard for the amount of evidence it wants, and my experience shows that this is almost never enough.”
The US-based Solar Energy Industry Association stated that it fully supports the Biden administration’s efforts to solve the forced labor problem, calling it “condemable.”
“It has no place in our industry. The industry association said in a statement on Friday that there is also a legitimate concern that if law enforcement is too extensive, it will unnecessarily disrupt the supply chain and make the response to the climate crisis and Creating jobs has become more difficult.
CBP also issued an import ban on Chinese-made cotton, tomatoes and some computer parts on the grounds of allegations of forced labor.