Solar glass shortage threatens China's plans to be carbon neutral by 2060

Solar panel producers like Longi Green Energy Technology Co. have asked the government in China, home to most solar manufacturing, to address the situation by approving new factories

The world’s biggest solar power company says a shortage of glass is raising costs and delaying production of new panels, throwing a wrench into China’s plans to accelerate its shift to clean power.

Prices for glass that coats photovoltaic panels have risen 71% since July, and manufacturers are struggling to produce it fast enough to keep more than a week’s worth of sales in inventory, according to Daiwa Capital Markets. The shortage comes as the solar industry turns toward bifacial panels, which increase both power output and glass requirements.

Solar panel producers like Longi Green Energy Technology Co. have asked the government