UK Wants Forced Labor-Free Solar Supply Chain

The UK government is set to introduce an amendment to the Great British Energy Bill to discourage products made with forced labor in the country’s clean energy supply chain, especially solar, and ensure ethical sourcing of clean energy components and materials.  

The proposed amendment will prevent the state-owned renewable energy investment body, the £8.3 billion strong Great British Energy (GB Energy), from investing state money in a solar supply chain linked to forced labor. It will need to be passed by both houses of Parliament to become effective. 

“Great British Energy will be an industry-leader in developing supply chains free of forced labour as it propels us in our clean energy superpower mission,” said UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks.  

GB Energy will also appoint a senior leader on ethical supply chains and modern slavery. The government has relaunched the Solar Taskforce to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labor, according to a statement by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero.

The US has already banned any solar products linked to China's Xinjiang from entering its borders under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). This makes it mandatory for importers to ensure they do not import any goods that have a trace of forced labor from Xinjiang, a region which supplies a significant amount of solar-grade polysilicon for solar cells (see UFLPA Comes Into Force In The US). 

The European Union (EU) also approved a regulation related to forced labor products entering the bloc in April 2024, without specifying the industries or products, which will be published in the official journal after the EU Council’s approval (see European Union To Ban Products Made With Forced Labor).  

A BBC report cites His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data that says the UK imports more than 40% of its solar PV from China. It remains to be seen how the UK will secure solar supplies to replace the Chinese modules and meet the targets under the country’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan (see UK Targets Up To 47 GW Solar PV Installed Capacity By 2030).   

But that shouldn’t be a problem, according to the local solar association Solar Energy UK, which has welcomed the proposed amendment. The association’s Chief Executive, Chris Hewitt, believes that factories certified by the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) will soon be able to produce enough solar panels for 100 GW of clean energy/annually, sourced ethically. This will be 5x more than solar power currently in the UK, and more than enough to meet UK as well as European Union (EU) needs.  

The SSI was established by Solar Energy UK in collaboration with SolarPower Europe (SPE) to encourage entities to commit to ethical and transparent practices in the solar supply chain (see Solar Stewardship Initiative For Solar Value Chain). 

Hewitt added that “if we continue in alignment with European partners, we are confident there will be no slowdown in solar deployment or that the amendment threatens the attainment of clean power by 2030 or net zero by 2050. As a cross-border, cross-economy issue, the UK should be moving in the same direction as our neighbours to make sure Britain isn’t left behind.”

With the UK pushing to prevent forced labor-made solar products in its supply chain, it will see the country seeking alternatives that could perhaps open the door for Indian solar makers. This comes as a major partnership was announced at the recently concluded TaiyangNews Solar Technology Conference.India 2025 between SPE and the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) for a manufacturing collaboration between Europe and India (see TaiyangNews STC.I 2025 Day 1: Innovation & Strategic Collaborations Key To India’s Solar Manufacturing Success Story).