welcome
Gizmodo

Gizmodo

Science

Science

How Hurricane Helene Disrupted the Solar Industryâs Fragile Supply Chain

Gizmodo
Summary
Nutrition label

83% Informative

North Carolina town of Spruce Pine , North Carolina , has been hit hard by Hurricane Helene .

The town supplies the purest quartz in all the world, which is essential to the production of computer chips and solar panels.

The industry relies on quartz primarily to make polysilicon, a refined type of silicon that forms the sunlight-harvesting cells in most photovoltaic panels.

Quartz and Sibelco are among the companies that have been shuttered since Hurricane Helene .

Mitsubishi Chemical Group manufactures high-purity synthetic silica for the semiconductor industry.

Developing alternative supplies of high purity quartz, even ones that cost more, could fortify the solar supply chain.

VR Score

84

Informative language

83

Neutral language

37

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

62

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

Affiliate links

no affiliate links