first solar filed a complaint After learning that Toledo Solar was allegedly refurbishing, selling, and selling First Solar Panels under the Toledo Solar brand, Toledo Solar, a CdTe thin-film solar panel manufacturer from the same Ohio state. filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Additionally, Toledo Solar allegedly claimed that its solar panels were made in the United States, even though they were manufactured at First Solar’s Malaysian plant.
First Solar is asking Toledo Solar to immediately notify all consumers who have purchased mislabeled solar panels that they will not be entitled to any compensation. tax credit They are trying to profit from using US-made solar panels. First Solar is also asking the court to permanently ban Toledo Solar from marketing, selling and installing mislabeled solar modules.
A spokesperson for First Solar said in a statement: “We are disappointed to learn that Toledo Solar is refurbishing, selling, and selling First Solar’s CdTe solar panels as their own, and we are calling the company deceptive. I filed a lawsuit for trade practices,” he said. “Given our role as a leader in the solar industry with a track record of defending domestic solar manufacturing, and after careful consideration of the seriousness of the issue, we have taken this action. The purpose is to notify all purchasers of First Solar Panels sold by Toledo Solar as their own and to prevent Toledo Solar from making further false claims or selling additional First Solar Panels in its possession. By preventing things from happening, we can deal with the problem and finally solve it. Stock.”
A new serial number is etched over the previous First Solar number.
First Solar first discovered the alleged tampering last year when the nonprofit called on First Solar to help decommission and recycle the 18-year-old First Solar system at the Ohio Governor’s Mansion outside Columbus. It was when New solar panels from Toledo Solar were being prepared for installation on site. The Toledo solar panels had serial numbers indicating they were manufactured at First Solar’s Malaysian facility in 2018 and sold to a solar development company in Ohio in 2019. Surplus solar panels are often resold, which could be the case with a solar development company in Ohio, but there is no further information. was provided. The panel had a new serial number etched on it and the junction box had been replaced.
First Solar then proceeded with further research by ordering 200 Toledo Solar 115W panels in January 2023. The panels were delivered in February and were labeled as being made by Toledo Solar in the United States. Inspection of the First Solar modules revealed that they were his First Solar panels made in Malaysia.
Toledo Solar is Production line with an annual production capacity of 100MW The Perrysburg facility is less than 16 miles from First Solar’s multi-gigawatt manufacturing campus and was established to manufacture CdTe thin-film panels for the residential market where First Solar is not focused.
“We value First Solar highly. I am a shareholder,” said Toledo Solar CEO Aaron Bates. 2020 Photovoltaic World. “We don’t think Toledo Solar will compete with First Solar. That was one of the decisions we made very early on. If so, we will only investigate if there are niche markets we can serve without competing with First Solar.These are utility scale.Toledo Solar serves the US non-utility market. ”
toledo solar Announced at the end of 2022 It announced that it will expand its small line to reach 2.8GW of manufacturing capacity by 2027.
Toledo Solar did not respond to a request for comment.