The UK government is mulling steps to position the state-owned GB Energy investment vehicle as a "sector leader" in preventing solar panels produced by forced labour from entering the supply chain.
The department for energy security and net zero (Desnz) is "considering" how the government can "go further" to ensure forced labour is removed from the solar supply chain. The ministry states that "no industry in the UK should rely on forced labour", a Desnz spokesperson told Argus.
The government previously voted down a Lords amendment introduced by David Alton on 11 February that would have prevented the Secretary of State from disbursing GB Energy funds "if there exists credible evidence of modern slavery".
The government defended rejecting the amendment on 25 March, arguing that the existing "debarment list" mechanism — introduced by the Procurement Act 2023 — was adequate "to ensure that suppliers with unethical supply chains cannot participate in [GB Energy] procurement", according to energy minister Michael Shanks. He added that the amendment would "force the government to cease all [GB Energy's] activities".
The ministry has now revised that view "having listened carefully to the views of MPs and peers", and expects to "provide an update shortly" on revised guidance.
Domestic industry body Solar Energy UK "welcomed" the government's move to push on with a plan to strip modern slavery from industry supply chains and added that it "look[s] forward to seeing the [amendment] text and responding in more detail." The body also stated its confidence that removing forced labour solar panels from the supply chain would produce "no slowdown in solar deployment".
