JinkoSolar
Profile
JinkoSolar is the biggest manufacturer of solar panels in the world, delivering approximately one out of ten solar panels in the world, according to the company’s own statistics. Founded in 2006, most of the company’s solar panel factories are in China but it also has plants in Florida, Malaysia and Vietnam. Researchers from Sheffield Hallam university in the UK accuse the company of using forced labor from the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
In 2015 JinkoSolar won a contract to provide 180 megawatts of electricity to the states of Jalisco and Yucatán in Mexico. The company chose to build a 250-hectare solar park in Cuncunul and Valladolid but failed to consult with the local Mayan population. In February 2019, local residents sued JinkoSolar, citing the potential impacts of the project such as the deforestation of 206 hectares, destruction of habitat for five endangered species (including the ocelot and the Tamandula anteater), 26 species with conservation status and 20 species under special protection. The project was canceled after a court ruled in the community's favor.
Solar panels.
JinkoSolar was profiled as part of the report "Green" Multinationals Exposed: How the Energy Transition is Being Hijacked by Corporate Interests.
Violations
Violation data is still being gathered for JinkoSolar Holding at this time.
Stories
Activism
Mexican communities reject Chinese solar farm in Yucatán
Emilio Godoy | China Dialogue | May 5, 2020
In February 2019, residents of the municipalities of Cuncunul and Valladolid, about 1,500 kilometres south of Mexico City, sued the Jinkosolar Investment Pte. Ltd., the Chinese company managing the Yucatán Solar Park project for violating their right to prior consultation on projects that affect their livelihoods. A judge ruled in favour of the plaintiffs since the area’s indigenous peoples were not consulted prior to the installation of the solar farm.
Malaysia: Factory workers protest against 'rubbish' tag
Audrey Dermawan | New Straits Times | June 18, 2019
Some 200 factory workers staged a protest outside Jinko Solar Technology Sdn Bhd here this morning, demanding for a public apology following a video clip allegedly uploaded by a member of the management team that label them as "rubbish".
South Africa: Solar panel workers strike, demand pay increases
News 24 | May 11, 2016
Tens of workers at Jinko Solar in Epping Industria staged an unprotected strike on Wednesday.
& Lawsuits
US conducts raids at two properties of China's Jinko Solar
Nichola Groom | Reuters | May 10, 2023
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security this week raided a factory and sales office operated by one of the world's largest solar panel makers, China's Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd (JKS.N), the agency said on Wednesday.
Hanwha Q-Cells wins patent litigation against JinkoSolar, REC Solar and Longi in Germany
Sandra Enkhardt | PV Magazine | June 18, 2020
The Düsseldorf Regional Court has agreed rivals of the Korean manufacturer illegally used its patented passivation technology. The judges granted Hanwha Q-Cells an injunction which requires Jinko, REC and Longi to retrieve all modules featuring the patented technology distributed in Germany since late January last year.
United States: JinkoSolar Won The Patent War with Hanwha, For Now
Energy Trend | June 5, 2020
The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) has issued a final determination in favor of JinkoSolar (“Jinko”), which concludes that Jinko’s products do not infringe the patent asserted by South Korean PV module maker Hanwha Q Cell (“Hanwha”).
United States: JinkoSolar reaches lawsuit settlement to tune of $5.05 million
Ian Clover | PV Magazine | September 30, 2015
JinkoSolar, the Tier-1 Chinese solar company, has reached a $5.05 million settlement in a lawsuit brought in 2011 regarding the purchase of American Depositary Shares pertaining to the alleged misrepresentation of Jinko's compliance with Chinese environmental regulations.
China's JinkoSolar must face U.S. lawsuit over pollution, protests
Jonathan Stempel | Reuters | July 31, 2014
JinkoSolar Holding Co must face a shareholder lawsuit accusing the Chinese solar panel maker of concealing that one of its factories was dumping toxic waste into a nearby river, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday.
United States: Investors hit Jinko with lawsuit after PV plant pollution spill
Ben Backwell | Recharge News | October 12, 2011
A group of US investors has filed a class-action lawsuit against PV manufacturer JinkoSolar following the recent pollution incident at the company’s cell plant in Haining, China.
Environmental Impacts
Malaysia: Penang government defends JinkoSolar factory approval
Jonathan Gifford | PV Magazine | June 2, 2015
The government of the Malaysian state of Penang has defended its decision to approve the new JinkoSolar manufacturing plant in the region. The 500 MW cell and 450 MW module plant, inaugurated last week, has drawn fire over potential pollution concerns.
China: Jinko Solar Faced Earlier Fluoride Sanctions
Wayne Ma | Wall Street Journal | September 23, 2011
Jinko Solar, the Chinese solar-technology manufacturer that endured protests last week because of alleged pollution, said Thursday it was aware of causing high levels of fluoride in the city's sewage system more than a month earlier.
China firm apologizes for toxic waste after protest
Royston Chan | Reuters | September 19, 2011
Protesters overturned vehicles before being dispersed, after waste from the factory, which manufactures photovoltaic panels, cells and wafers, killed large numbers of fish in a nearby river, according to state media.
& Relations
United States: Due to forced labor concerns, U.S. ports have blocked over 1,000 shipments of solar components
Ryan Kennedy | PV Magazine | November 11, 2022
Three of Reuter’s sources were told the shipments include solar panels and polysilicon cells, adding up to 1 GW of capacity, and primarily made by three of the largest Chinese PV providers. This includes Trina Solar, JinkoSolar, and Longi, which together account for about one third of U.S. panel supply, said Reuters.
U.S. lawmakers ask Biden administration why some China solar giants left off slave labor list
Jonathan Gifford | Reuters | July 12, 2022
It asks specifically why JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd, Xinte Energy Co Ltd and Longi Solar were left off the list even though all three were included in a 2021 report by geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Advisory that found signs of ties to forced labor in their supply chains.
Chinese Solar Companies Tied to Use of Forced Labor
Ana Swanson & Chris Buckley | New York Times | January 8, 2021
A local subsidiary of Jinko Solar, Xinjiang Jinko Energy Co., received state subsidies for employing local Xinjiang labor, including at least 40 “poor workers from southern Xinjiang” in May, according to a local government announcement from July 2020 cited by Horizon Advisory.
Financials
The wind record that has everyone talking
The Australian | December 19, 2012
Separately, JinkoSolar won US$1 billion backing from the China Development Bank, propelling it to a six-month high.
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Political Influence
Open Secrets - Tracks corporate lobbying of US politicians.
OpenSecrets.org Profile of JinkoSolar
United States: Trade Group Driving Solar Controversy Includes Slave-Labor Companies
David Dayen | The American Prospect | May 12, 2022
Companies working to sideline the Commerce Department investigation into Chinese trade violations are reliant on components made by Uyghur workers... As recently as 2019, Jinko gained a seat on SEIA’s board of directors, and Hanwha Q Cells still holds one today.
USA: City Council votes to withdraw grant to Jinko Solar factory following Homeland Security presence
First Coast News | June 14, 2023
The Jacksonville City Council voted to withdraw a $2.3 million economic development grant to Jinko Solar factory on Tuesday. It was a unanimous vote (18-0) to withdraw the funding. Last month, Homeland Security officers were seen on site at 4660 New World Avenue. Officers said they were serving a search warrant that's part of an ongoing federal investigation.
Largest Solar Manufacturer Opens U.S. Plant in Wake of Tariffs
Bloomberg Law | February 27, 2019
The world’s largest solar-panel maker, China’s JinkoSolar Holding Co., said it opened a manufacturing plant in the U.S., 13 months after President Donald Trump approved tariffs on imported equipment.
China: Jinko Solar Holding company restarts after cleanup
Eco Business | October 11, 2011
Solar panel maker Jinko Solar Holding Co. has resumed production following a cleanup prompted by violent protests over pollution from one of its factories in eastern China.
Procurement
CorpWatch is still gathering procurement data on JinkoSolar Holding at this time.