THE GREENEST SUN

New Rankings Crown The 'Cleanest' Solar Firms, Defy Stereotypes

Jessica Lillian, 25 May 2012 (Solar Industry)

“…The trade-war discussion has also encompassed…the belief that Chinese factories - including solar fabs - create hazardous working conditions, flout pollution laws and generally act as poor corporate citizens…[but China-headquartered Trina Solar was recently crowned the cleanest PV manufacturer by the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) in its third annual Solar Scorecard. Trina unseated last year's winner, SolarWorld, as the most environmentally friendly and worker-friendly PV manufacturer.

“With a score of 94 (out of a possible 100), Trina barely beat out second-place SunPower (headquartered in the U.S., though it manufactures its products in Malaysia, Mexico and the Philippines), which earned 93 points…Germany-headquartered SolarWorld - known as the leading public face behind the anti-dumping complaint and countervailing-duty petition that brought about the new tariffs on Chinese manufacturers - came in third place, with a score of 91 points…”

click to enlarge

“Yingli, which manufactures in China, placed fourth in this year's survey, with a score of 88. Other top 10 manufacturers included REC (87 points), Suntech (86 points), Avancis (79 points), Aleo Solar (77 points), Sovello (77 points), Solon Energy GmbH (75 points) and First Solar (74 points)…At the bottom of the pack, two China-based manufacturers - JinkoSolar and LDK Solar - received scores of zero. Neither company responded to the SVTC's survey…Jinko holds the dubious distinction of having experienced perhaps the most public environmental contamination incident within the PV manufacturing industry over the past year…Two non-China-based manufacturers, Hanwha SolarOne (with manufacturing locations in Korea) and Schott (with manufacturing locations in Germany, the U.S. and Czech Republic, as well as in China) fared scarcely better…

“According to the SVTC, the PV cell and module manufacturing industry as a whole - regardless of factory locations - still needs to make major strides in improving its overall environmental and social-justice profile…Specifically, manufacturers should aim to reduce their usage of toxic chemicals, develop or strengthen their module recycling programs and take steps to protect their workers up and down the supply chain…”

Tweet