More PV Shipments Released from UFLPA Detention

By Christian Roselund

CEA has confirmed that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released additional shipments of PV modules manufactured by Jinko Solar from detention under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). Roth Capital reported on 5 January 2023 that the volume of these modules is equivalent to a “modestly-sized” utility-scale project.

The modules released contain polysilicon from both Wacker Chemie and Hemlock Semiconductor, produced in Germany and the United States. CEA has not confirmed any other reports of modules being released from detention and has seen no indications of modules made with Chinese polysilicon being released from detention.

Customs implemented UFLPA in late June 2022 and began detaining shipments of PV modules from Jinko Solar, LONGi, and Trina Solar shortly thereafter. It is unclear what volume of PV modules have been detained. Customs values total UFLPA detentions to date at around $1.3 billion but the agency has not disaggregated the value of PV modules versus other product. Customs released its first shipment of Jinko modules in late November 2022 and additional shipments followed in
December 2022.

Not only have detentions directly limited solar deployment, but they have also caused suppliers to divert product from the United States to serve other markets. In its Q3 results call, Jinko Solar estimated that over the course of 2022 it would divert 2 gigawatts of PV modules intended to serve the U.S. solar market to other markets.

While attempts to quantify the impact of ULFPA have been frustrated by incomplete quantitative information, renewable energy trade groups report serious effects on the U.S. utility-scale solar market in 2022. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) forecasts in late 2022 that only 10.7 gigawatts-DC of utility-scale solar would be installed in 2022, versus 17 gigawatts in 2021, and lists UFLPA implementation first among multiple causes.

Source: CEA Research