JinkoSolar Site Attacked By Locals In Zhejiang

Following media reports that concerned local citizens stormed one of Jinko Solar's facilities in Zhejiang, the company has made efforts to mitigate the back lash to the global group. According to reports locals became fed up with thick smoke and concerns of polluting in the area. The local concerns came to the head when dead fish began to appear in the river near the manufacturing plant. Government officials have since admitted the site had failed environmental testing a number of times.

The company is stating that initial feedback suggets that Zhejiang Jinko Co., Ltd. ("Zhejiang Jinko"), a subsidiary of JinkoSolar, discharged a small amount of solid waste containing fluoride into a nearby brook. In response to the concerns of local residents and in full cooperation with the local government's investigation, Zhejiang Jinko has now temporarily suspended production at its facility in Haining until the impact of any possible environmental damage has been assessed and remedied. An initial investigation conducted by the local environmental protection authority indicates that the issue may have been caused by the company's transitory storage of waste as it sought a new waste management contactor to comply with the environmental authority's latest policy. During this time, unexpected and extreme rain conditions may have caused a small amount of waste containing fluoride to flow into the nearby brook via the factory's drainage system.

Unfortunately for Jinko this is not the only case of local people storming local facilities in response to environmental issues. The other incidents were not related to Jinko or the solar industry but the company finds itself caught up in a broader national issue sweeping China. Compounding the social fall out is the solar industry's claim of safe renewable energy that is manufactured safely. These sort of incidents affect the whole industry and should act as a warning to all companies to maintain tight awareness of all facilities in a company's holdings. AS one bright spark put it, "˜Dead fish in the river should be a clue.'

This incident has greatly impacted the management team of JinkoSolar and the company is ensuring the message of pride in its environmental compliances and the importance of this to the company ethos highlighting how they have met or exceeded all requirements for ISO 14001 certification. JinkoSolar also pointed out that all its factories are equipped with state of the art machines designed for minimal environmental impact. The Company's investigation team is carrying out an in-depth examination of the Zhejiang factory to identify the root cause of the incident and is also seeking a third party agency to conduct joint investigations which is a key element in restoring faith in the brand name they have built. 

The halt in production is not expected to have material impact on JinkoSolar's operations and module delivery commitment to its customers. JinkoSolar's main factory in Shangrao, Jiangxi, is in full operation and has enough stocks to keep producing and meet customer demands. The Company will update the market as the situation evolves and the overall industry will be paying close attention.