Costs of Moving Supply Chains Outside of China are High - Andy Klump to Washington Post

Polysilicon sources in China account for over 80% of the world’s polysilicon production - Source: Clean Energy Associates

The Washington Post interviewed CEA’s CEO, Andy Klump, in a recent article covering recent news covering US legislation surrounding sub-components of the solar supply chain.

After U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a withhold release order on June 24 barring silicon-based products from Hoshine Silicon, the top producer of metallurgical-grade silicon (MGS) - the key raw material of polysilicon used in solar panels - many are now looking at ways to source polysilicon or adjust supply chains outside of China.

“Andy Klump, a Shanghai-based chief executive of Clean Energy Associates, one of two auditors tapped by SEIA to monitor compliance, said the costs of moving away from China are too great for many. “Sure, you can remake everything in the industry in another country, but it would also be very expensive,” he said, adding that there is a way to “ethically source” solar materials from Chinese suppliers not linked to forced labor.”

Read the full Washington Post article - Solar industry’s ties to China’s Xinjiang region raise specter of forced labor and read about CEA’s Solar Supply Chain Full Component Traceability Audit.