Solar power, China

Here’s some reporting that shows that greed can compromise even the most environmentally viable of clean energy production methods, that is, solar power. The Washington Post published a story over the weekend denouncing the Luoyang Zhonggui High-Technology Co. for dumping toxic waste used in the manufacturing of solar panels right in the middle of a country village. The material used to manufacture solar panels, polysilicon, has as byproduct a highly toxic substance called silicon tetrachloride. “The land where you dump or bury it will be infertile. No grass or trees will grow in the place. . . . It is like dynamite — it is poisonous, it is polluting. Human beings can never touch it,” said Ren Bingyan, a professor at the School of Material Sciences at Hebei Industrial University.

Green and greed may be spelt alike, but they are very, very incompatible. The story also highlights the need to take China’s ‘green advance’ claims with extreme caution.

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Antonio Pasolini

London-based, Italo-Brazilian journalist and friend of the earth.

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