Inside GB Energy's Ban on Xinjiang-linked Solar Panels

Great British Energy is set to block any use of solar panels tied to forced labour practices in China’s Xinjiang region.

The government-owned company’s change of course follows weeks of political wrangling and growing concern over China’s stranglehold on the global solar supply chain.

The move, spearheaded by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, comes with a firm focus on supply chain ethics. Miliband confirms he will introduce a new amendment aimed at keeping Great British Energy clear of any involvement in modern slavery.

This decision reverses the government's earlier rejection of a similar proposal only a month ago.

China is currently the largest global supplier of polysilicon, the critical raw material used to manufacture solar panels. Almost half the world's supply of this component comes from the country, with an estimated 40% sourced specifically from the Xinjiang region – a region mired in accusations of systematic forced labour involving Uyghur Muslims.

Solar sourcing shifts in response to forced labour concerns

At the heart of this policy change is Xinjiang’s role in supplying the raw materials for solar panels.

Xinjiang's solar industry has been accused of using coercive labour practices under state-led labour transfer programmes, which Western governments and rights organisations argue amount to modern slavery. The Chinese government rejects these claims, describing the labour as voluntary.

The UK currently imports more than 40% of its solar photovoltaic products from China, a dependence which now faces scrutiny. Miliband's amendment will aim to cut this reliance where ethical sourcing cannot be guaranteed.

According to a government source quoted by the BBC, "there has been an acknowledgement of the argument that Great British Energy should be an industry leader". That recognition now underpins the decision to change direction.

This switch has been welcomed in parts of the international energy community.

Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, praises the move: “I really salute the UK government’s decision.”

He stresses that materials for the clean energy transition "should really be produced in a socially and environmentally acceptable way".

Despite the backing from energy leaders, reactions in Westminster have been mixed. Labour MPs who pushed for the change have welcomed it as a win for ethical procurement.

However, Acting Conservative Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie brands it a “humiliating U-turn from Ed Miliband”, warning it could hinder the UK's renewable energy targets.

Verifying clean supply chains remains a major hurdle

The question now turns to how these new rules will be enforced. No official draft of Miliband’s amendment has yet been published, but it is expected to align directly with Great British Energy's procurement strategies. The focus will be on eliminating any trace of forced labour or human trafficking from its operations.

Implementing such a policy comes with serious challenges. Tracing the origin of components within complex supply chains, especially in regions like Xinjiang, is notoriously difficult. The BBC has previously uncovered links between slave labour and products including solar panels and cotton shipped to the UK.

Luke de Pulford, Executive Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, says this is not isolated to one sector: “There’s a problem right the way throughout the renewables sector with state-imposed forced labour in China."

Luke also highlights how embedded Xinjiang is in the solar economy: “Nearly 40% of [polysilicon] comes from Xinjiang and is connected in some way to these labour transfer schemes, so we’re going to have to diversify.”

That shift could take time and cost, but the government argues the UK can meet its net-zero targets without relying on exploitative labour.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero insists that the new Solar Taskforce will focus on supply chains that are "resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour".

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith also welcomes the change. Long critical of China's human rights record, he says: “I hope and believe they are now seeing sense and realise it is a terrible situation to allow products that have been produced by slave labour.”

The government now faces the challenge of balancing climate goals with moral responsibility, all while reshaping its solar supply lines.

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