"Trade Group Driving Solar Controversy Includes Slave-Labor Companies" 12 May 2022

Over the past few weeks, one trade group in Washington has triggered a media firestorm about a Commerce Department investigation into trade violations on imports of solar panel components. The organization, known as the Solar Energy Industries Association, has warned that the uncertainty surrounding the investigation has stopped imports of most solar components, canceling or delaying hundreds of large-scale solar projects, leading to probable layoffs and an attenuated build-out of renewable energy.

SEIA has been wildly successful in mainlining its views. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post have all done major stories about the controversy, warning of a “frozen” solar industry and a collapse of the green transition, while heaping blame on Auxin Solar, the small manufacturer that initiated the legal process that led to the Commerce investigation. [...]

Dan Whitten, vice president of public affairs for SEIA, responded to Prospect queries with a series of comments, but regarding its membership would only say that “SEIA represents the American solar and storage industries and American workers, full stop.” This ducks the fact that SEIA’s membership includes U.S. subsidiaries of Chinese producers JinkoSolar, JA Solar, Trina Solar, BYD, and LONGi Solar, which are the dominant solar component manufacturers in the world. In addition, SEIA counts as members Hanwha Q Cells and Canadian Solar, which are headquartered in Korea and Canada, respectively. Canadian Solar has a large manufacturing base in China and its subsidiary CSI Solar was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange; Q Cells has manufacturing in China, though it has other factories in the U.S. and recently announced a new one. As recently as 2019, Jinko gained a seat on SEIA’s board of directors, and Hanwha Q Cells still holds one today. [...]