Nov 11 (Reuters) – More than 1,000 shipments of solar energy components worth hundreds of millions of dollars have piled up at US ports since June under a new law banning imports from Xinjiang. region of China because of concerns about slave labor, according to federal customs officials and industry sources.
The level of attacks, which have not been reported before, shows how a policy intended to increase pressure on Beijing over Uyghur detention camps in Xinjiang risks undermining the Biden administration’s efforts to -decarbonize the US electricity sector to fight climate change.
US Customs and Border Protection seized 1,053 shipments of solar energy equipment between June 21, when the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act took effect, and October 25, it told Reuters in response to a public records request. , adding that none of the shipments have been released yet.
The agency would not identify the manufacturers or confirm details about the quantity of solar equipment in the shipment, citing federal law that protects confidential trade secrets.
Three industry sources with knowledge of the matter, however, told Reuters that the blocked products include panels and polysilicon cells that are likely to reach 1 gigawatt capacity and are primarily produced by three Chinese manufacturers – Longi Green Energy Technology Co Ltd (601012.SS), Trina Solar Co Ltd (688599.SS) and JinkoSolar Holding Co (JKS.N).
Combined, Longi, Trina and Jinko typically account for up to a third of US panel supplies. But companies have halted new shipments to the United States because of concerns that additional shipments will also be seized, industry sources said.
The sources asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
China denies abuses in Xinjiang. Beijing initially denied the existence of any detention camps, but later admitted it was building “vocational training centers” needed to combat alleged terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism in Xinjiang.
Neither China’s foreign ministry nor the China Photovoltaic Industry Association immediately responded to requests for comment.
Last month, Li Gao, the head of the climate change office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that some countries “are making reasons to restrict China’s photovoltaic enterprises…
In an email, Jinko said it is working with CBP on documentation that proves its supplies are not involved in forced labor and is “confident that the shipments will be accepted.”
Longi and Trina did not respond to requests for comment.
The bottleneck is a challenge to U.S. solar development at a time when the Biden administration is seeking to decarbonize the U.S. economy and implement the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a new law that encourages of clean energy technologies to combat climate change.
Solar installations in the United States slowed 23% in the third quarter, and nearly 23 gigawatts of solar projects have been delayed, mostly due to the inability to get panels, according to the trade group American Clean Power Association.
ACP urged the Biden administration to streamline the vetting process for imports.
“After more than four months of solar panels being inspected under the UFLPA, none have been rejected and instead they remain stuck in limbo with no end in sight,” it said in a statement.
The UFLPA essentially presumes that all goods from Xinjiang are produced using forced labor and requires producers to show documentation of taking imported equipment back into the raw material to prove otherwise. -import can be obtained.
CBP would not comment on the length of the detentions or say when they would be released or turned away. “Ultimately, it depends on how quickly an importer is able to submit sufficient documentation,” said CBP spokeswoman Rhonda Lawson.
Longi, Trina and Jinko source most of their polysilicon from US and European suppliers such as Hemlock Semiconductor, a Michigan-based joint venture between Corning Inc and Shin-Etsu Handotai Co Ltd, and Germany’s Wacker Chemie , said industry sources.
A Wacker spokesman would not comment on the US detentions but said the company was sourcing quartzite from suppliers in Norway, Spain and France.
“Our procurement strategy gives us every reason to be confident that the products used in our supply chain are produced in a way that respects human rights,” said spokesman Christof Bachmair.
Hemlock said in a statement that it sources all metallurgical-grade silicon from suppliers using quartz mined in North and South America.
CBP previously said it intercepted about 1,700 shipments worth $516.3 million under the UFLPA through September but had not previously detailed how many of the shipments contained solar equipment.
The EU has also proposed a ban on products from Xinjiang but this has not been implemented.
Reporting by Nicola Groom; Additional reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Richard Valdmanis, Lisa Shumaker and Lincoln Feast
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