Forced Uighur labour behind world’s solar panels, investigation finds

A report by a team of British researchers says the world’s production of solar panels is tainted by forced labour in Xinjiang (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)

British researchers say the world’s production of solar panels is being fuelled by forced labour from Uighur Muslims in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.

An investigation by Sheffield Hallam University says some 45% of the world’s supply of a key component in the panels – polysilicon – comes from Xinjiang and is obtained through a vast system of coercion involving the Uighur ethnic minority.