How many Australian houses are covered in the trappings of slave labor? The EU has discovered some ethical rats inhabit their roofs.
…
Tim Blair spots some turbo-powered hypocrisy among those that normally lecture the rest of us on ethical consumerism.
Solar: Slavery Sourced, Green Endorsed, Tax Subsidised
Ethically-sourced food, clothing, coffee and even magical healing crystals are a big draw to concerned green types, who profess to worry deeply about the origin of anything they buy.
But the same types aren’t too fussed over the origins of their holy solar panels.
Indeed. Awkward news came out last month that “Nearly every solar power panel sold in the European Union has its origins in China’s oppressed Xinjiang region.”
Fears over China’s Muslim forced labor loom over EU solar power
Politico
Solar power uses slaves from every side
Eastern slaves make the panels, and western slaves pay to subsidize other people’s solar panels.
If only solar power was competitive — we could afford to pay real workers in real factories, and say No thanks to subsidies — and still get cheap electricity at the end of it.
Paul Homewood points out that the top ten solar panel makers are corporations in China, China, China, Canada, China, China, China, US, Germany and Taiwan. Even Canadian manufacturing relies on plants in Asia or Latin America and Panasonic has abandoned it’s solar factories in Malaysia and Japan. Who can compete with forced labor?
Statista h/t Paul Homewood, Notalotofpeopleknowthat
Homewood sums up the Catch-22:
Naturally, potential solar panel manufacturers in Europe would like to see punitive tariffs, but this would drastically impact on costs, destroying the idea that solar power is competitive.
My guess is that, despite protests from MEPs, little will change, and a blind eye will be turned just as with the new Russian gas pipeline to Germany. And all for what? Solar power in the EU only accounts for 1.8% of primary energy consumption.
Greenpeace says Climate Change is a Human Rights issue right up until it isn’t. It’s really an economic issue isn’t it?
More money for Greens and their friends.
Solar panels are just like any other commercial product. If you can’t source the chain of custody, buy a competing product where you can. It’s a competitive market.
623
We need to take away the power our governments and politicians use to assume we would support their debt loading of purchasing inferior products.
Just because they assume the energy is free doesn’t mean that they can purchases it for us at any costs as they are assuming the company’s in their best interest data is accurate.
Which in the real world is not.
190
“buy a competing product”
Virtue symbols subsidized by virtue signaling governments are NOT traded on a competitive market.
In a free competitive market solar and wind would be a small niche.
“Solar panels are just like any other commercial product.”
Simply false.
Making a free market argument is funny from those that want government control of markets.
332
Making assumptions about others can be risky, and potentially embarrassing. And further, you either missed the point, or are deliberately dissembling. In fact the whole article needs some close scrutiny.
It is totally correct to say (as Simon does) that if you wish to buy PV panels for your house then it IS a competitive field within that market – there is absolutely no compulsion to buy the “slave-made” ones from Xinjiang, or indeed any other particular brand, and neither are the “slave-made” ones given favoured treatment in terms of government subsidy.
If the “slave-made” panels from Xinjiang still have subsidy status, and politicians consider this an issue, then it seems to me it’s a relatively straightforward bureaucratic process to amend their status.
This may or may not be correct, but not sure why it is brought up here … it was not an issue of Solar/ Wind versus other energy forms, it was an observation to state the obvious – there is a wide and well-established market for solar panels, and consumers can choose based on their priorities.
And finally – what other products are made in Xinjiang? Is there a reason to pick on solar panels just because they are renewables? What about flatscreen TVs, T-shirts, crockery sets?
04
“If the “slave-made” panels from Xinjiang still have subsidy status, and politicians consider this an issue, then it seems to me it’s a relatively straightforward bureaucratic process to amend their status.”
I for one, am relieved that politicians may consider slave produced items an “issue” and unworthy of subsidy.
Of course, a deliberative gathering of facts, testimony of experts, should followed by a consensus decision.
However, I hope that ‘cultural’ differences, as President Biden has recently stated, will be taken into consideration when criticizing the employment practices of other nations.
I also agree that a bureaucratic assessment of which consumer items produced by slave and child labor are acceptable should be included in the hearings as well. (Closed to the public to allow an honest exchange of ideas.)
20
It case you haven’t noticed, the solar panel market is booming. Loads of options and technologies to choose from.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-solar-power-market-size-expected-to-exceed-194-billion-by-2027-301233068.html
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/solar-cell-market
123
You seem to be missing the point, but that’s pretty much expected. The inane virtue signaling pushing green doesn’t acknowledge the FACT that our future hazardous waste problem China is selling us is manufactured under circumstances that make the US corporate moguls of old look altruistic.
71
SO you do not buy a single thing from China at all? Or are you just singling out PV panels for criticism?
04
Tilba Tilba,
I buy as little from China as I possibly can. Unfortunately, their unfair business practices that include slavery and that are so causally condoned by globalists, has given them so much market penetration, it’s hard not to.
Of course PV panels, windmills and other ‘green’ products certainly deserve extra criticism, regardless of who’s manufacturing them, as their demand has been artificially inflated by foolish virtue signalers pushing the false fear of CO2 that the laws of physics unambiguously precludes.
50
Time you went to bed Jo. 😀
50
Wow an oppressive communist regime using its population as slave labour, nobody saw that coming.
This could give the well respected climate movement a bad name!
280
In the context of today’s hypervigilant political activism, this situation should be a primary point of focus.
The fact that it is ignored is a good indication of the lack of integrity in the Woke Community.
341
Greenies tell us that solar panels are cheaper than coal per energy unit.
So why would China import coal and export solar panels?
Why would China part with even one solar panel?
Because selling slave-made products to gullible westerners is quite lucrative.
Greenies have no shame. It’s that simple.
831
Perfect analysis Zoe, short and straight to the point !!
GeoffW
70
A gold star for Zoe’s simple but erudite observations.
20
Besides controlling the manufacturing of all the solar panels in the world, the CCP also controls all of the pharmaceutical manufacturing of the entire world.
Covid originated in China, and now the entire world “needs” a vaccine for it.
The CCP and the Medical Industrial Complex corporations make billions of dollars out of this virus.
The covid-19 pandemic is a FALSE FLAG, in the same way that Human-caused climate change (AGW) is a FALSE FLAG.
263
“…..the CCP also controls all of the pharmaceutical manufacturing of the entire world.” I suspect that is gilding the lily a tad
40
Yarpos,
I’m not sure what you mean by “gilding the lily” in this context.
(the CCP is no “lily” that can be gilded in some way)
The CCP controls the raw materials for ALL pharmaceuticals in the world, just as the CCP controls the manufacturing of the raw materials for ALL plastic products in the world.
The covid pandemic is a false flag.
The climate-change LIE is also a false flag.
I hope you and I are on the same page?
84
The covid pandemic is a false flag.
The climate-change LIE is also a false flag.
I hope you and I are on the same page?
Arguably not on the same planet.
14
Tilba Tilba,
Arguably, it sounds like you would like to argue with me.
I hope you will?
Firstly, could you explain which of the said planets YOU yourself might be on?
(ie, how did you get “planets” from “pages”?)
I’d also like to know if you’re aware of the term “false flag” and what it means?
Thanks.
20
No it doesn’t:
Since 1972, Tasmania, supplies 40% of world demand for raw narcotics, ……
The poppy plant, (Papaver somniferum) when mature, contains pharmaceutical alkaloids in the walls of its poppy capsule or ‘crown’. While a poppy capsule can contain up to 20 different alkaloids, the morphine, codeine and thebaine alkaloids are the principal alkaloids sought.
No it doesn’t:
Plastic is a fossil fuel product. Plastic is made from oil and natural gas feedstocks—molecules extracted from the oil and gas become the plastic.
http://www.chemlink.com.au/industry.htm#Petrochem%20capacities
What is it that you are trying to sell here Mick? Clearly, it’s not “truth”.
20
Sceptical Sam,
Phew! Lucky the CCP has YOU to defend them and their global fascism.
Which of the corporations will you trust to inject you, mate?
Will you proudly display your “Covid Passport” for all to see, once you get the vaccine?
How will you behave around people who do not display their Covid Passport?
Will you feel safe being around unvaccinated people even if you’ve had the vaccine?
It seems to me like you are somehow apologising for the CCP, in response to my comments about the CCP.
I’d like to know why you are doing that.
Thanks.
00
The main point, of course being the topic of Jo’s article above: the atrocious slavery of the CCP in the manufacturing of products supposed to “combat” a problem they themselves invented and used to deceive the entire world for profit. The whole gang; the CCP and the UN and the massive corporations of the entire world.
How many people here oppose the CCP and its treatment of workers as slaves?
Can I get a show of likes and dislikes?
*Like = oppose communofascist slavery
*Dislike = please explain why, to all the readers here.
Thanks.
00
Mick, the first thing you need to do is provide some evidence that the CCP controls:
1. “the raw materials for ALL pharmaceuticals in the world”; and,
2. “the manufacturing of the raw materials for ALL plastic products in the world.
Until you do that you have no credibility.
10
And, if you’re unable to do so, just say so. An apology would be an indication that you “shot from the hip” and were called out for your imprudence.
10
So Mick, I take it you can’t handle being called out for your mistruths.
The fundamental basis of resisting an evil regime is firstly to be absolutely honest in what you say about it.
Regrettably, you fell at the first hurdle. Who’ll believe a word you say from here on?
10
Sceptical Sam,
Frankly mate, I’m surprised at your apparent “sensitivity” to reading words critical of the communist party of China.
I’m surprised at your aggression towards me, especially considering the conservative nature of this blog.
Why are you so pedantically trying to justify the CCP and its part in the current affairs of the world?
How about the way the CCP is treating workers as slaves?
How about the way the CCP is buying up Australian dairy farms, land, livestock, staff and machinery?
How about the Belt and Road initiative that blackmails poor countries into massive debt with the CCP?
Why are you apologising for the CCP and being aggressive towards me?
00
I do hope you will engage with me, Sam.
From what you’ve said so far, I think there might be a lot more for you and me to talk about.
Your emotional response to my criticism of the CCP is fascinating to me.
It’s tough, innit, waiting for the replies here. I keep refreshing the page to see if you’ve replied because I gotta go to work soon. (I’m in Brisbane by the way)
Meanwhile..
I’d like to ask you if you actually know what Fascism is and how the CCP and the UN are fascist by controlling the world’s corporations?
Are you aware of how we can learn from 20th-century history so as to NOT allow fascists to repeat it?
Anyway, I look forward to your reply.
I’d appreciate a slightly less aggressive tone if you can manage it, but otherwise, lemme have it! (haha)
00
Reply to Mick. The answer would include:
-Leave it to the wokists, leftists and CCP sympathizers to exaggerate and present false arguments. Our side has enough material to condemn them while being scrupulously accurate and honest.
-Some of us talk/argue with others of different views. It is possible for them to be informed, it happens now and again. If we use only unvarnished and correct information we have no need to retract.
-Even when you make a correct statement, if it contains contentious elements, give references or use words that reduce the opportunity for opponents to introduce side issues.
10
Hi Lucky,
Thanks for your reply, and well said.
The false-arguments and doublethink of Leftists is a fascinating phenomenon of human behaviour.
I feel kinda glad that we, as a society, are beginning to understand that there is a type of person called a “Leftist”.
Leftists are people who constantly complain about politicians, yet advocate for the type of government that gives more power and control to politicians.
Leftists complain about being a “victim” of some oppressive authority, whilst advocating for more oppressive authority from the government.
I’m not sure of Sceptical Sam’s, or Tilba Tilba’s chosen political ideology, but I find that 21st-century leftists have absolutely no idea of the history of leftist/marxist government and the fact that there has never ever been a marxist government of history that has benefitted a human population in any way.
The way Sam and Tilba seemed so offended by my comment, and immediately jumped to defend the communist party of China, only proves to me that they are willfully, and arrogantly ignorant of history, science, politics, and human behaviour, and have been deeply, deeply deceived.
🙁
00
Sam – it looks like Mick couldn’t rise to the challenge so brought up some other issues to somehow make his statements true because they do other bad stuff. And then bluster and rant some personal attacks.
Basically calling Mick out on making false claims means that you are sensitive. Mick has hi own facts and I suggest you leave him to them.
11
Gee Aye!
I was HOPING you would comment at some point!
Innit funny that your entire “rebuttal” is based on nothing but ad homs, and very poor attempts at gaslighting me into submitting to you. (haha!)
You’ve got absolutely no way to defend or justify your support of the CCP.
Your usual leftist tactics of ad homs and gaslighting will not work on me, Gee.
You are gonna have to come up with some kind of explanation as to why you are defending fascism.
(I suspect you don’t even know what fascism is)
I sincerely hope you will engage with me now, and not run away from me.
I’m hoping you’ll construct a reasoned argument, but I predict that your reply, if any, will be nasty, and aimed at me personally, rather than the actual issue at hand.
Gee Aye! I wonder if you can prove me wrong about that?
10
and just while I’ve got you…
Gee Aye,
You’ve been commenting here on Jo’s (brilliant) blog for quite some years now.
I’m just wondering where you stand right now with the whole AGW issue?
(set aside all the other issues for a moment and consider only the AGW issue)
Do you still believe that the UN can stop the earth’s 4.5Byo climate from changing if they have more money?
What is your opinion now on such alarmist crap as we saw from “climate experts” like Tim Flannery regarding “Even the rain that falls will not fill our dams” comment?
What’s your general, overall view of the AGW issue now, after all your years on Jo’s blog?
My impression is that you tend to trust big-government, and still wholeheartedly believe the UN IPCC and the media corporations.
My hope is that you have grown sceptical of the UN IPCC, and the UN itself as a political organisation. IPCC stands for “Intergovernmental Panel…” not “Interscientific Panel… ”
I look forward to your reasoned, polite, fact/logic-filled reply, with no sign of any criticism of me personally, like calling me dumb, or other names, like nasty 10 year old children do.
Thanks. 🙂
20
Can’t be bothered dismantling all your embedded assumptions and including those in your several new off-topics you raised.
So I’ll start and end with stating that I don’t support the CCP and that you have still not addressed the original critique of your comments earlier in the thread. You seem to have “run away” from those.
00
Gee Aye,
Thanks for your reply.
It’s a shame you won’t engage with me.
I woulda thought that someone like you, with such strong views on things, would easily “handle” someone like me.
Unfortunately, the entire ideology of Leftist politics is pretty difficult to defend and/or justify these days.
Oh well.
I’ll keep an eye out for you on these here pages.
Happy Easter!
00
This how market capitalism is supposed to work.
to take an example that Zoe postulated earlier at number 4. Using her logic and the main thrust of this post, Australia should stop all coal and iron ore shipments to countries like china, and ban all imports of goods which can not prove that they were not produced using slave labour.
That would ban Nestle, and most brands of chocolate, but hey it would stop the solar panels, so it would be worth it
Or, as many outside this blog would say, do not let price be the sole determination when purchasing goods and services
519
China generated over half world’s coal-fired power in 2020 – study
“SHANGHAI, March 29 (Reuters) – China generated 53% of the world’s total coal-fired power in 2020, nine percentage points more that five years earlier, despite climate pledges and the building of hundreds of renewable energy plants, a global data study showed on Monday.
Although China added a record 71.7 gigawatts (GW) of wind power and 48.2 GW of solar last year, it was the only G20 nation to see a significant jump in coal-fired generation, said Ember, the London-based energy and climate research group.
China’s coal-fired generation rose by 1.7% or 77 terawatt-hours, enough to bring its share of global coal power to 53%, up from 44% in 2015, the report showed.”
Some one should tell Greta and her low info fellow failed doomsday travellers.
201
oops.
All important, inconvenient link … https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/china-generated-over-half-worlds-coal-fired-power-in-2020-study-2021-03-29
60
Travis, this is a post about ethics in the supply chain. I’m saying that if we were serious we would ban all exports and all imports to any country which operates using slave conditions to produce goods and services. It is not about coal power.
314
Peter
Does that include Australia?
https://www.triplem.com.au/story/often-we-will-walk-past-a-human-trafficking-situation-without-even-realising-99939
Most western countries have a slave problem. Instead of spending time toppling statues to 200 year old characters who don’t fit their ideas of woke ness and justice, those with the passion to rail against historic slavery could more usefully employ their time and passions in dealing with the problems existing here and now under their noses
210
of course, Tonyb, that is exactly what I’m saying. but… are you going to pay 30 dollars for a t-shirt that is guaranteed to be ethically and sustainably produced. I’m betting not. Price rules on the site
111
I can’t follow your logic. Are you saying that coal and iron ore in Australia are produced by slave labour?
30
If we feel so strongly about slave labour we should stop trading with those countries who use the practice, but this of course is fanciful.
30
It doesn’t happen often, but I find myself almost agreeing with PF. it’s true, if governments were serious about standing up for human rights, they would cut off all trade. I cant see it happening anywhere, regardless of political persuasion. mind you, the Aussie government would be in trouble internally, as they’d have to do something about the atrocious and truly shameful state of Aboriginal life expectancy too…
The same goes for Labor and the Greens, if they were genuinely concerned about climate change, then they’d be jumping at any and all methods to reduce CO2, including nuclear power, and wouldn’t have got hysterical about the Abbott “direct action” plan either… They’d also allow people to discuss Aboriginal life expectancy without calling everyone a racist, and denying any chance of improvement for people they claim to be representing.
Look at the ABC, they are all distraught because Adani was talking to people in Myanmar, yet, Woodside continues to drill for oil/gas offshore Myanmar as we speak, and nothing is said about that… I guess Woodside is too hard to remember when the brainwashing focused on Adani for so many months. Daewoo are also drilling for oil/gas offshore Myanmar right now too, better stop buying their stuff…
40
🙂 🙂
00
Peter Fitzsimmons forgets that market capitalism is about free choice. It’s not about the cheapest. Its about you deciding what is value for money.
20
Hi Peter Fitzroy,
Hey, just a quick question for you;
Do you know what Fascism is?
I’m wondering if you know, because you seem to be confusing free-market capitalism with fascism.
I’d just ask you to clarify that for us all if you would. Thanks.
(fascism is State control of the corporations who “own” the means of production.)
I think it’s important to make sure we’re all working on the same definitions of things.
I hope you do too.
00
Follow the money….same old same old…
Panels Macht Frie?….
90
With solar panels, we are the slaves.
100
Coal is free for Australians. It is evil.
Wind and Solar comes from factories in China.
Global warming is fake news but the flow of our cash to China is real.
261
Most imports and exports occur because the market finds the cheapest source, whether food, clothes, appliances etc.
For most manufacturing what determines lowest cost is wages.
Currently, in China, Shanghai has the highest monthly minimum wage among 31 provinces (RMB 2,480/US$382 per month) and Beijing has the highest hourly minimum wage (RMB 24/US$3.7 per hour).
In many cities the official minimum is about 15 RMB/hour so it is likely that unofficially some workers are receiving $1-2/hour.
70
I have wondered for months as to why BLM make such a fuss about 200 year old statues when there are many modern examples of slavery going on in the world, of which green slavery is surely amongst the worst, especially aided and abetted by people so’ woke’ they probably never get to sleep.
It’s far worse than solar panels though. A huge proportion of the rare earths and metals needed for solar panels, batteries, servers, mobile phones etc, are mined by slave labour, often children, in mines owned by the Chinese and then have to be processed in filthy conditions by more slave labour.
However, provided its green slavery producing goods the green woke need, from solar panels to mobile phones, lithium batteries for cars to laptops, all seems to be ok.
Gross and disgusting hypocrisy from the hysterical climate fanatics and their followers.
321
It shows you how dumbed down our “engineering” institutions have become that photovoltaic panels have become a desired electricity generation method especially given their high cost and intermittency.
The only legitimate uses of PV cells are spacecraft, remote telecommunications and scientific monitoring installations and anywhere else where it’s cheaper to install a battery and PV panel than run a wire from a coal, gas, nuclear or proper hydro supplied grid.
251
I agree with your assessment that some engineering institutions, and parts of practically all of them, are failing their critical thinking mission. But there is so much subsidy available for anyhting green that the critical thinking of virtually the whole of the U.S. is impaired. Some weeks ago I said that Americans believe four very false things about themselves and folks wondered why I listed only #1 and #2. It’s time to finish the list #3 — Americans believe they are smart, #4 They believe they are well informed. Neither is true.
There is a project to build an industrial scale solar farm near me that is due to be looking for approval soon. I live at 41N latitude 7200+ feet elevation, where snow, heavy snow, may cover these panels anytime between 1st week of September and 1st week of June. But its northern latitude and snowy climate are not the worst of the deficiencies of this site. A common weather condition around here is wind carrying dust in a light rain or mist or just after snow has melted. Once dried on glass this combo is tough to clean and will be a never ending source of green minimum wage employment. Yet, the farm will probably get built with taxpayer subsidies, and its output will get tax credits, meanwhile its non-reliable output will undermine many better paying jobs in several ways. Few around here, and this is the “most educated” town in the state, understands this, but can’t be bothered to become informed, and just know they must support the project because it is green. The well educated are not; the well informed only know what propaganda they read.
181
Regardless of what labor makes the panels, each panel requires some 20 grams of silver.
Just for USA Baseload power generation, it would require some 36 Billion panels at 1 sq M each.
That would require some 6 times the entire known world reserves of silver. And the entire manufacturing output of all manufacturers combined for the next 930 years.
Even if the quantity of silver is reduced by 400% through technology, it is still 1.5 times the known silver reserves. And the panels become less recyclable the less silver there is in them.
So, take your pick. Intermittency, lack of raw materials, slave labor, water usage to clean them, transmission infrastructure cost, life expectancy and replacement, required backup power, etc.
Every one of these issues is a show stopper.
Solar is what you do when the mains are 20 km away and all you need is a clock radio, LED TV, cell phone charger, and some LED lights. You don’t make steel, or any heavy industry, you don’t have large scale agriculture or transportation or freight. You don’t have anything, really, except niche applications of low power consumption because of the overall economics.
The only long term solution is some form of nuclear. MOX reactors with reprocessing, or Thorium cycles.
It is the people who “don’t do Engineering, Maths, Physics, or honest Economics” that think emotionally and are actually too ignorant to be allowed to vote, who propose Solar or Wind power, for that matter.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2018/09/04/innovation-is-making-solar-panels-harder-to-recycle/#e1d94134c0aa
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2014/08/29/no-silver-no-solar/14756397/
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4044219-enough-silver-power-world-even-solar-power-efficiency-quadruple
210
Nowhere is the problem of ‘people who don’t do Maths, Physics,Electronics or honest Economics’, bigger than the crowd pushing hydrogen.
If we are to use hydrogen as a compressed gas instead of a liquid , stored at 700 Bar, do they know how heavy the cylinders will be that holds it, and the problems of leakage and hydrogen embrittlement.
190
H2 tanks, even using advanced composites, weigh about 20 kg per kg of H2 stored. It takes about 6 kg of H2 plus about 105-120 kg of tank weight to provide approx 450 – 500 km range in an H2 vehicle. Triple the tank weight for steel tanks. 1kg of H2 is equivalent to 3.2 kg of petrol in energy content (3.78 liters). The issue is tank geometry. The higher the pressure, the smaller the tank diameter and greater the length. Tank circumferential stress is PR/2t for Pre2sure, Radius and wall thickness, t. That is the limiting stress, not axial stress.
High pressure tanks are long and skinny.
I don’t trust composite tanks at 700 bar, gives me the creeps.
150
and yet…
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/solar-driven-silver-demand-set-to-dim-as-sector-innovates-60533352
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/10/06/australian-startup-to-replace-silver-with-copper-in-solar-cell-manufacturing/
07
Until they provide actual products, at scale, and efficiency, it is simply hype and advertising.
110
Probably true… silver’s advantages are hard to replace
41
And yet…..
Solar is still highly uneconomic and a real problem to decommission from an environmental point of view.
121
It’s actually ironical that the world is starting to put pressure on China because of human rights abuses yet wants to paint the picture of China as a good corporate citizen because it has agreed to zero emissions by 2060. So virtuous. The underlying reason why this apparent virtuous conflict is allowed to exist is because the origins of the Climate change agenda is really about global sustainability and that the world cannot sustain such a large population. Ideally the world would have at least 25% less population something closely tied to Chinas one child policy. It’s this underlying belief that the world is so overpopulated that justifies the collateral damage of a few less humans in their pursuit of their green agendas. This belief that humans are the virus has infiltrated the minds of the climate zealots . Given a choice between avoiding human suffering and their precious solar panels , the panels win every time.
81
I completely agree with the gist of the OP. If you are happy to buy from unethical sources you are feeding the problem.
71
Do you buy from unethical sources Gee Aye?
Have you got Chinese PV panels on your roof?
Has your employer?
What are you doing about it?
10
No and no.
What I do about it is I do my best.
20
We all try to do that Gee Aye.
Thanks.
00
The green Marxist-progressive view on this situation is one of silence. It would appear that the lefties are quite ok for slave labour as long as it supports their ideological climate cause. This is no different to their positions on indigenous rape culture or harassment of conservative women in politics such as Nicole Flint. One needs to always remind oneself that leftist morality is a facade that sits behind a reality of racism, sexism and persecution, all directed towards “white” democratic western culture. Essentially, the only crimes that can exist in the lefty’s realm are ones committed by evil white conservative colonials and crimes committed by everyone else are swept under the green rug.
111
If you want to see the actual, true, market value of “renewable energy”, then make them bid into the load like primary generators must do. Guaranteed, definite power delivery at specific times. No more special treatment by making thermal generators deprecate capacity based on unknown contracts for power. Make the renewables crowd pay for the voltage and frequency support they cannot provide, as well as the transmission, switchgear, telemetry, and overhead costs they do not pay. That’s what real power economics demands, not market distortion by political fiat.
The renewables crowd bears none of the responsibility for grid stability, yet they enjoy all of the unearned profits of selling into a captive, artificially structured, market. No wonder they push for more of what doesn’t work. Best to fleece the marks before they wise up.
150
The Chinese competitive advantage: “We treat people like crap and pay them nothing, while having all the costs associated with the environmental standards of the 1800s. Now let’s compete on price.”
60
Just shows us the hypocritical side of the human.
“Slave” labour in China helps to make most of what we use in our liberated 21st century first world lives. Use your smart phone to take a video of the toppling of a statue of an alleged colonial slave trader?
When the pandemic is past, take a trip to admire Egypt’s pyramids…no slave labour there!
70
I don’t know the degree to which the huge range of product in China is produced by slave labour, or by people earning impossibly low wages. However it seem hypocritical to me to cynically pick on PV Panels just because they are promoted more by the greener end of the spectrum.
PV panels have a wide user-base in Australia, and it has very little to do with being greenies lots of people have invested in solar power because (a) they believe it’s the right thing to do, and (b) the economics of it over say 10-15 years is okay.
Anyway – where is the outrage about the thousands of other products made in China, that we all more-or-less consume every day without clutching our pearls?
02
You know how solar power is sooooooo incredibly cheap now.
There’s 13,000MW of rooftop solar panels installed.
And hey, they are now sooooooo cheap that you can get a 6KW system for just $3,500.
Wow! It’s just so incredibly cheap.
So, oh, and mind you, this is just in today’s dollars, not what people paid across the years when they were more expensive.
So, 13,000MW comes in at 2.17 MILLION of those average 6KW systems.
So, at 3.5 grand for a current 6KW system, that comes in at $7.6 Billion
However, RTS operates at a Capacity Factor of just 12%. (and here, that’s the best case scenario) so that’s $7.6 Billion for the equivalent 1500MW of generated power.
And that’s in today’s dollars.
Tell me again how cheap rooftop solar power is.
Tony.
221
[…] JoNova; European solar manufacturers have claimed nearly every solar panel purchased from China has its […]
21
S&W power are the most TOXIC energy sources on the planet.
They only last 20 years and then have to be buried in landfill FOREVER.
So these ruinables destroy the environment ABOVE and BELOW the ground and create this TOXIC mess forever.
And they have the hide to call this ongoing toxic mess green energy?
But we do know that the planet is GREENING because of the use of fossil fuels. What could be better for humans and the environment? A win, win for our planet.
91
and yet,
https://reneweconomy.com.au/french-consortium-developing-first-completely-recyclable-wind-turbine-blades-31940/
09
Ahh, wonderful, recycleable wind turbine blades.
Made from thermoplastics, so yet another wonderful use of ….. crude oil.
Hmm! Weren’t we supposed to be getting rid os that?
Tony.
131
The only good use for wind turbine blades is to burn them to liberate their hydrocarbons and produce heat and electricity. The residual silica from the glass reinforcement could be placed in landfill.
They could be burned in proper countries that allow controlled incineration of waste but that is prohibited in Australia.
42
Ruin economy news.
00
Mercury, arsenic, sulphur dioxide, etc etc, all from burning coal. Dumped into the air. Not forgetting fly ash dumped into the water supply or into leaking dams. And that is every single day for a coal plant.
211
So Peter, where are the tens of thousands of people all over Australia just falling down dead from poisening from mercury, arsenic, sulphur dioxide etc etc ?
GeoffW
61
I recall walking home from school in Sydney’s west in the 1960s (a cold decade). Most houses had inefficient coal, coke, or briquettes as their heating source, in either open fires or slow combustion – a few places still had wood.
On still winter afternoons the whole Parramatta River Valley sat in a pall of smoke – it had an acrid smell, and on bad days it would affect my breathing (and I was not asthmatic). There was nothing cosy or romantic about it – it was pretty awful.
10
Moving power stations from city suburbs to country locations coupled to replacing the “dirty” power stations with much cleaner burning technology (the emissions ABC like to broadcast are water vapour from cooling towers, “smoke stacks” emissions are invisible to the naked eyes), greatly improved the air quality.
During the 1970s when Environment Protection Agencies were created in developed nations air pollution was the reason, primary purpose.
And since that time High Energy Low Emissions technology has further reduced emissions from power stations built in more recent decades.
Never mentioned is the Japanese improvement on HELE technology that re-burns emissions, sort of like an internal combustion engine exhaust gas reticulation valve, resulting in even higher energy and lower emissions.
20
Slave labour and Human Trafficking are the same thing.
It us time for those of us privileged to live in a world where we don’t know these things are really happening
To make a decision. Pretend it isn’t happening or
help stop this inhumanity
50
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ghislaine-maxwell-charged-sex-trafficking-14-year-old-girl-grooming-recruit-other-minors
Child sex trafficking is being disclosed.
30
First world trafficking to rich elites in this case. A small but high profile proportion of the total.
31
So that makes it OK, does it?
20
err
00
https://youtu.be/mHQHP7cCg0c
Tim Ballard on modern day slaves and trafficking
This is big business, bigger than drugs
00
[…] JoNova; European solar manufacturers have claimed nearly every solar panel purchased from China has its […]
10
Hanwha Q cells are no longer made in Germany, they are made in South Korea and Malaysia
30
I think that there should be full public disclosure of all those unions, politicians, Leftist “consultants and propagandists and all other “investors” who profit from the anthropogenic global warming fraud.
Name and shame.
42
Okay – can we match those with all the characters and corporations and politicians and journalists who benefit and profit from the denial of scientifically established global warming – caused by CO2 emissions. Seems fair and reasonable.
06
Yikes, even the beer ads feature unreliable energy now. Victoria Bitter running tv ads saying how they now run their breweries on 100 renewables energy and then feature one of those god awful ugly solar generation plants (I hate calling them farms – that makes them sound all cute and cuddly). Believe me, I own a flat near the main CUB brewery in Abbotsford and all their power comes from the main grid. Which means at last 70 % coal power most of the time to fill that stubby of VB.
30
Deceptive advertising?
They pay a premium for “renewable energy” supply but hope the public will not understand that grid electricity cannot be traced to a particular source.
Their sales and marketing people apparently believe or research has indicated that the claim will give the company a sales advantage.
00
Not only solar panels.
The protest this morning in Adelaide outside the Chinese consulate was, in part, due to the Uighur slave labour used to make cotton. The claim is that 80% of Chinese-made cotton comes from this labour source, including children as young as 4 to pick it.
50
[…] Time to boycott Slave-made Solar Panels? — JoNova […]
10
[…] h/t JoNova; European solar manufacturers have claimed nearly every solar panel purchased from China has its origins in the Chinese slave factories of Xinjiang. […]
00
Canadian Solar a Canadian company? Click on this link and see what pops up:
There is a nominal HQ and assembly plant in Guelph, ON but most of the manufacturing is in – you guessed it – China:
00
Canadian Solar a Canadian company? Click on this link and see what pops up:
There is a nominal HQ and assembly plant in Guelph, ON but most of the manufacturing is in – you guessed it – China:
00
Let’s try one more time. Posting links did not work correctly in the last two posts:
Canadian Solar a Canadian company? Click on this link and see what pops up: http://www.canadiansolar.com
There is a nominal HQ and assembly plant in Guelph, ON but most of the manufacturing is in – you guessed it – China: https://investorplace.com/2020/10/canadian-solar-just-how-canadian-is-csiq-stock/
10
Hanwha-Q Cells? Hmmm, doesn’t sound like a very German company to me. I wonder where the real ownership is?
When the UK had its first brush with the oncoming grid problems in August 2019, one thing the reports mentioned as a factor was the unknown amount of uncontrolled generation coming into the grid, which is private wind and solar. The amount might be small but it is playing a part in making grid failures more likely.
00
Do what President Trump did! Put Tariffs on the Anti-Competitive Chinese Stuff so that other Countries Solar Products can At Least Survive! I Know that there are a Lot of you out there that says it will Never Work but We Must do Something about the Marauding Chinese if we are to Live. Bulldoze the Belt and Road Plan on a Country by Country Basis and We will put them out of Business Permanently. Thanks All and especially Jo for still being here, it’s been a while.
10
Here’s an original idea…why not manufacture solar panels in Australia? Just like the USA, Oz greed shut down Australia’s manufacturing industry and took it offshore. What goes around, comes around… the West deserves all it gets.
00
Hi Joanne,
Regarding “Canadian Solar”, its head office is in Ontario, but the majority of its manufacturing and all of its accounting are in China.
Its president also appears to be Chinese.
I suspect they are set up in Ontario to gain subsidies of some sort, but I think otherwise it should be considered a Chinese company.
RR, Calgary, Canada
20
A well regulated power grid, being neccessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to create and consume affordable and reliable fossil fuels shall not be infringed.
00