ESMC renews calls for forced labour regulation in Europe

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Signed by 37 European solar PV manufacturers, the letter alleges a link between forced labour and “the unsustainably low prices of Chinese-made solar PV modules and inverters”. Image: ESMC

The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) has written an open letter to the EU calling for “robust regulation” of forced labour in the solar supply chain. The letter cites both “the values of human rights” and “preventing the closure of European PV manufacturing companies” as reasons for regulation.

Signed by 37 European solar PV manufacturers, the letter alleges a link between forced labour and “the unsustainably low prices of Chinese-made solar PV modules and inverters” from polysilicon production in Xinjiang, China. Signatories include executives from German manufacturer Meyer Burger, UK manufacturer Oxford PV, Maxeon, solar startups Carbon and Holosolis and US Cadmium Telluride (CaTe) thin film module producer First Solar.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

It calls for the EU to implement five measures:

  • Shift the burden of proof to companies coming from high-risk areas, whereby economic operators in areas exposed to forced labour are required to prove that their supply chains are ‘clean’ before being granted access to the European market.
  • Grant the European Commission a similar mandate as “competent authorities”, allowing it to initiate investigations about suspected forced labour and ultimately prohibit products made with forced labour.
  • Accelerate the implementation of regulations beyond the 18 months or 24 months proposed by the European Parliament and Commission respectively.
  • Avoid recognising “unproven industry schemes” which come from stakeholders in the solar industry and “do not engage with workers”.
  • Understand that disengagement is the only option in the case of state-sponsored forced labour, like that which is alleged in China. Companies in this system “lack the ability to conduct human rights due diligence”.

The letter follows a draft regulation that was accepted by the EU Internal Market and International Trade committees in October 2023 that called for a ban on products made with forced labour entering or leaving EU markets, explicitly including solar PV products. The regulation would put the burden of proof on companies in “high-risk areas” like Xinjiang, retroactively target offending goods already in the EU marketplace and introduce a framework for actively investigating supply chains.

Around one third of the world’s polysilicon is produced in Xinjiang. In its letter, the ESMC cites findings from the Global Slavery Index which places solar panels as the fourth highest at-risk product for forced labour imported by G20 nations and a study from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK, which found that the supply chains for many of the largest PV producers are insufficiently transparent to concretely rule out human rights abuse.

From a market standpoint, the ESMC has previously publicly decried an “intentional and purposeful attack by Chinese PV manufacturers” to offer uncompetitively low-priced products to the European market. It contends that this is linked with forced labour practices.

‘human rights obligations’

The singatories said: “While the solar industry is at the forefront of the fight against climate change, this does not offset its social and human rights obligations.”

In September last year the ESMC published an initial letter calling for a ban on products made using Forced Labour, in which it cited the US’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) which requires any product entering the US from the Xinjiang region to actively prove that its supply chain is clean of forced labour.

As if to demonstrate the challenges of both climate change and human rights spelled out in the letter above, the UFLPA resulted in around 2GW of solar modules being held at US Customs in 2022 and contributed to ongoing supply issues for the US. Experts have said that the UFLPA will be the most consequential trade barrier for the US market in the long-term. Many products which were initially destined for the US market ended up in Europe, leading to an oversupply issue discussed in a webinar last October by PV Tech head of research Finlay Colville (Premium access).

The European solar industry has made some steps towards self-regulation in the absence of executive legislation. Trade body SolarPower Europe has launched its Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) which seeks to “drive a more responsible, sustainable and transparent solar value chain”. The SII launched its first ESG standard in October 2023, which would award companies certification based on audits and inspections of operations at specific sites.

At the Solar & Storage Live 2023 event in Birmingham, UK last autumn, PV Tech’s coverage identified that the SSI and supply chain transparency were forefront of discussion amongst manufacturers and developers alike. We discussed moves towards traceability with Singapore-headquartered manufacturer REC Solar and big Chinese player, JA Solar.

However, the SSI’s ability to audit the most upstream portions of the solar supply chain is up for debate; transparency into silicon or polysilicon production in Xinjiang is essentially non-existent – as shown by the Sheffield Hallam report. And, supply chain ‘bifurcation’ – where manufacturers can establish different production lines to adhere to different market standards – “does not eradicate forced labour and allows companies to continue sourcing from regions with state-sponsored forced labour”, the ESMC letter said.

26 November 2024
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2025. PV ModuleTech Europe 2024 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
11 March 2025
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.
3 June 2025
Messe Stuttgart Stuttgart, Germany
Meet battery manufacturers, suppliers, engineers, thought leaders and decision-makers for a conference and battery tech expo focused on the latest developments in the advanced battery and automotive industries. Stay plugged in for all the latest information on The Battery Show Europe 2024 including: Keynote Speakers & Conference Overview Show Features Floor Plan & Exhibitor News Travel & Transport information
17 June 2025
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
October 4, 2024
A prominent US renewable energy lawyer has told PV Tech Premium that a Chinese challenge to the Inflation Reduction Act through the World Trade Organization should not be a cause for alarm.
October 4, 2024
Australian utility Origin Energy announced its intention to withdraw from hydrogen and focus on renewable energy and energy storage, citing “uncertainty around the pace and timing of development of the hydrogen market".
October 3, 2024
The EBRD has committed €100 million to Lithuanian renewable power developer Green Genius, to expand its work in Europe until 2029.
October 3, 2024
United Solar is currently building a 100,000 ton polysilicon factory in Oman which it expects to be operational in 2025.
October 3, 2024
The 360MW Mortlake solar-plus-storage project in Victoria, Australia, is the latest large-scale renewable energy project to be fast-tracked for development by the state government.
October 2, 2024
Renewable energy developer Frontier Energy has halted developing its 120MW solar-plus-storage project in Western Australia after it missed out on Reserve Capacity Credits (RCCs) from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2024
Huntington Place Detroit, MI
Solar Media Events
October 8, 2024
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 15, 2024
Santiago, Chile
Solar Media Events
October 22, 2024
New York, USA