First, there were protests by villagers. Then an apology. Now, vertically integrated Chinese solar company JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) has resumed production at its facility in Haining City in Zhejiang Province, China, following new measures to upgrade environmental protection practices.
October 11, 2011 — First, there were protests by villagers. Then an apology. Now, vertically integrated Chinese solar company JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) has resumed production at its facility in Haining City in Zhejiang Province, China, following new measures to upgrade environmental protection practices.
The Haining facility, one of two JinkoSolar production facilities, suspended production on September 17, 2011, after an accident involving suspected leakage of fluoride from a waste storage warehouse into a nearby small water channel, due to what Jinko called “extreme and unforeseen weather conditions.”
The Chinese government licensed a an environmental engineering firm to recommend improvements, which JinkoSolar has implemented, along with its own measures. Recommendations, overseen by a committee of experts established by the Haining government, were set forth in late September. In early October, the committee, the Environmental Bureau of the Haining government and representatives of Hongxiao Village reviewed the steps Jinkosolar had taken, and approved the actions.
The company has not revealed what steps were taken, or ongoing measures to prevent similar incidents, to the press.
JinkoSolar has “always been fully committed to environmental safety and social responsibility,” said the company’s chairman Li Xiande, who said that the accident motivated enhancements to its risk management practices. “We have proposed regular meetings with Hongxiao Village officials to discuss issues of mutual interest,” added Chen Kangping, CEO. Jinko will also select an international environment, health and safety (EHS) company to perform a full-scale audit of all its facilities.
JinkoSolar has met or exceeded all requirements for ISO 14001 certification and its factories are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment designed to minimize the environmental impact, the company notes. JinkoSolar is a member of the PV Cycle Association and a recipient of the Cleantech Driver Award from the Deutsche Cleantech Institut.
JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) is a vertically integrated solar power product manufacturer with low-cost operations based in Jiangxi Province and Zhejiang Province in China and sales and marketing offices in Shanghai, China, Munich, Germany; San Francisco, U.S.; and Bologna, Italy. Learn more at http://www.jinkosolar.com/.
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