The solar energy industry is facing scrutiny after it emerged that a solar panel manufacturing facility in China has been ordered to halt production over pollution fears.
The government of Haining city in Zhejiang province has ordered the closure of the facility pending an investigation. The factory – owned by Zhejiang Jinko Solar Co. Ltd – has been the site of protests by local residents in recent weeks.
Local reports indicate that Haining’s environmental protection bureau has been monitoring the solar factory’s waste stream for several months and had warned the plant’s owners that they should comply with pollution regulations. Up to 500 people took part in a protest at the factory in mid-September, according to an AP report.
Zhejiang Jinko Solar is owned by NYSE-listed JinkoSolar Holding Co. The firm is one of a large number of solar power product manufacturers supplying the global solar energy market from manufacturing bases in China and other parts of Asia.
It said in a statement that it was addressing the environmental concerns relating to the Haining city facility. It believes that a discharge of a “small amount of solid waste” may have taken place during high levels of rainfall while the company’s waste storage processes were in a “transitory” state.
Chinese solar panel manufacturers have seen rapid levels of growth in production levels in recent years due to high demand from China’s own solar energy industry as well as from other markets around the world.
According to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), around 80 per cent of Europe’s photovoltaic panel demand is being met by non-European suppliers.
