These two articles from Politico and the BBC outline the many concerns that Chinese forced labor is involved in the production of solar panels in the Xinjiang region. For Virginians living in counties where large solar projects are planned or being proposed, that means it is important to ask the solar developers where they are sourcing their solar panels. The only way to ensure that no forced labor is used in producing the solar panels in a project in Virginia is to get, in writing, an agreement about where the panels to be used are built.

Key points from the articles include the following:

Over the past week, we’ve made the following updates to our website:

• New links on the County Groups page adding Augusta County and Page County groups working to raise awareness of proposed utility-scale solar projects in those counties.
• Posted a link to a media article reporting Rockingham County’s decision to veto a proposed utility-scale solar project.
• Added a page with a video of environmental damage from utility-scale solar projects in Virginia.