Call for papers: 'Capitalising on the Sun' Global Solar Economy workshop, Edinburgh

Solar energy has entered a new era. 

 

Projections of future growth in demand for solar are unprecedented. Over the next five years solar energy is poised to add as much to worldwide capacity for electricity generation as wind or hydropower combined.

 

But what are the social and environmental justice implications of rapid growth in the solar economy? What are the effects of rising demand for minerals and metals in solar photovoltaic supply chains? What kinds of jobs is the solar economy creating? What are the impacts of large scale solar infrastructure projects for communities? And what kinds of electronic and toxic waste does the solar industry produce?

 

Until now these questions have been addressed in isolation. There have been few attempts to link concerns across the global solar supply chain, or across the Global North and Global South. 

 

This 2-day event will bring together researchers from academia, international organisations and campaign groups. Speakers include Dustin Mulvaney (San Jose State University), Sheila Davis (Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition), and Komali Yenneti (University of New South Wales).

 

• Land processes of land appropriation and dispossession for solar infrastructure development; claims to the solar commons 
• Mining the exploitation of mineral resources (including lithium, cobalt, silver, bauxite) for the production of solar batteries and photovoltaic modules; the organisation of mineral extraction; solar powered mining operations
• Labour: working conditions, labour control and discipline at sites of manufacturing in solar supply chains (including PV modules, electronic components); global subcontracting arrangements and offshoring; forms of unfair, bonded labour and modern slavery; corporate social responsibility initiatives.
• Waste the production of toxic and electronic waste across the life cycle of solar electronic equipment; solar repair economies; the politics of solar recycling initiatives.

If you would like to participate in the symposium, please contact jamie.cross@ed.ac.uk by April 15th 2018.  

 

For further information or to become a member of Better Solar, please contact mariana@bettersolar.org