Forced labour: US solar companies rely on materials from China's Xinjiang

Solar power has built a reputation as a virtuous industry, saving the planet by providing clean energy. But the industry has a dirty underbelly: It relies heavily on Xinjiang — a region in China that has become synonymous with forced labor for Muslim minorities — for key components, reports Buzzfeed.

Activists have claimed that China has detained more than a million people in a network of detention facilities throughout its Xinjiang region.

Many of these camps contain factories where Muslim minorities are forced to work. The solar industry is overwhelmingly reliant on parts and materials imported from this region, where heavy government surveillance makes it nearly impossible for outside observers to assess if people are working of their own free will. However, there are few alternative suppliers for the components the solar industry in the US needs, reports the news portal.

The Solar Energy Industries Association, which represents solar companies in the United States, opposes the “reprehensible” human rights violations in Xinjiang and is “encouraging” companies to move their supply chains out of the region, said John Smirnow, the group’s general counsel, reports Buzzfeed.

“We have no indication that solar is being directly implicated," he was quoted as saying by news portal, “but given reports, we want to ensure forced labor is never a part of the solar supply chain.”

Who are Uyghur Muslims?

Uyghur Muslims are a Turkic minority ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia.

The Uyghurs are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.