[RE-wrenches] Canadian (sic) Solar (was REC)

[Jeff Yago]

Maybe you reckon it's OK for us to source our goods from China and 
worsen both our trade imbalance and our dependance on cheap Chinese 
stuff.I don't think so.
Bob-O
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AMEN, AMEN, brother Bob!!

We receive all kinds of offers every day from China and Canada and who knows where wanting to sell us solar equipment that we have no idea as to quality or if we would be able to get reimbursed from the manufacturer if we had any failures.

Last year I ordered 6 KW of solar modules from a supplier you all would know under their brand name. I said I did not want any modules made in China. You guessed it, the modules were made in China and most looked great from the front that you would see after installation, but when you turned them over you could see all kinds of "raised bumps" under the vinyl backing and lots of tears or scraps in the vinyl backing that somebody had tried to paint over with white paint. In addition, the label was off-center and tilted about 15 degrees like somebody was slapping them on wherever, a clear sign of sloppy workmanship and no quality control. 

Yes, many of the larger commercial projects in US are going for the lowest first cost and importing tons of this stuff, and yes, I am sure there are some good manufacturers in China, but we cannot afford to take the risk of another batch of crap modules that we may have to eat when they fail after a year or two. As for us, we are sticking with US made modules even though they cost more, but we now are making extra sure the really are made in the US.  In addition, when we mention Made in US to our clients they really like that, and I am sure they realize there is a higher cost premium involved.

Jeff Yago
DTI Solar

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