supply chain

WTF Fun Fact 13319 – Solar Panel Production

As nations throughout the world work to decrease their carbon footprint and transition to renewable energy, solar panel production has increased significantly in recent years. China is one of the major players in the solar panel business thanks to its extensive production and inexpensive prices. Yet, the U.S. is making efforts to catch up and reclaim its position as a global leader in the manufacture of solar panels.

Dominance in solar panel production

China controls 80% of the global solar panel market and is now able to sell solar panels for far less than businesses in other nations. However, there has been increasing concern about China’s use of forced labor, particularly of the Uyghur population, in the production of their solar panels.

While it’s not clear how many solar panels produced in China use forced labor, given the scale of the industry and the reports of human rights abuses in the region, there have been calls for the solar industry to ensure that their supply chains are free from forced labor and other human rights abuses.

U.S. attempts to corner the solar supply chain

The United States is gradually catching up to China’s solar industry thanks to rules and incentives put in place to encourage domestic production and consumer uptake. For example, the US Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIL) has set aside money for the procurement of raw materials, manufacturing, and utility-level adoption.

Additionally, American businesses are funding emerging technologies that might transform the manufacturing of solar panels so it no longer needs to rely on China for raw materials, such as polysilicon. Thin-film solar panels, for instance, which are being tested by some businesses and could bring down the price of solar panels and increase consumer access to them.

In 2021, the United States installed over 20 gigawatts of solar capacity (bringing the total installed capacity to 142.3 gigawatts), which accounted for 50% of new electricity.

— WTF fun facts

Source: “Solar Panels Made in USA vs China: What’s Better?” — Go Green Solar

WTF Fun Fact 12562 – Aging Apples

In general, the food industry does its best to keep the amount of time between harvesting food and putting it on grocery stores shelves to a minimum. But a few years back, a story went around claiming that if you bought apples out of season, you could be eating something more than a year old because apples are preserved in wax and refrigerated after harvest.

While that story isn’t 100% true, it’s pretty darn close.

Apple harvests begin in July in the U.S. and are over by mid-December, depending on location and how early the apple variety ripens. So how old is the apple you buy in May?

Well, it very well could be months old. While the apple industry and FDA have fought back against this “myth,” they still largely have to admit that there can be quite a bit of time between harvest and purchase.

AllRecipes tried to debunk the myth, but a quote by Mark Seetin, Director of Regulatory & Industry Affairs at USApple in defense of the apple industry reads:

“According to data gathered by USApple, roughly 40 percent of each year’s apple crop is marketed by December 1 of the harvest year — most of which goes from harvest to store shelf without being placed in storage. The remaining 60 percent of the crop is moved to the market over the next roughly 8 months.”

Ok, so it’s not a year, but it’s a lot longer than we thought. Most of us probably assume that our out-of-season apples come from somewhere outside the U.S. where they are in season. And that may be the case at times, but it’s also the case that most apples are sold out-of-season and come out of temperature-controlled, low-humidity storage. A well-preserved apple can last up to 10 months in storage.

“To slow the proverbial sands of time, some fruit distributors treat their apple bins with a gaseous compound, 1-methylcyclopropene,” TODAY quoted the USDA as stating. “It extends the fruits’ post-storage quality by blocking ethylene, a colorless gas that naturally regulates ripening and aging.”

Yum.

What’s most important here is that while it might seem disturbing at first, it’s really not a problem, health-wise. However, the nutrient content of the apple is likely to diminish over time. So we can’t guarantee that it’ll still keep the doctor away.

Want a fresh apple? Buy local and in-season. – WTF fun facts 

Source: “That apple you just bought might be a year old – but does it matter?” — TODAY