MCE’s Solyndra Connection

Five months ago Solyndra filed a $1.5 billion antitrust suit against three of China’s largest photovoltaic manufacturers. According to Forbes, the suit alleged a wide-ranging conspiracy among Suntech, Yingli, and Trina to destroy Solyndra and the U.S. solar industry by flooding the market with cheap photovoltaic panels (note 1).                                                         

MCE undermining Solyndra? 

In May, 2012, MCE announced a 20-year solar deal with the San Rafael Airport where the airport would construct a 0.972 megawatt solar farm. When the project was completed in October, the Marin Independent Journal quoted airport ownership as saying “We probably could have gotten Chinese panels for a couple of cents a watt cheaper but we did want to have U.S.A. content in the project” (note 2). The attached image shows Chinese panels at the San Rafael Airport. 

Spinning out of China

Prior to announcing the San Rafael airport project, the Marin Energy Authority Board was addressed by Marin’s public about Chinese solar panel price-dumping and the effect of undermining the U.S. domestic solar industry. MEA's (MCE’s) response?  

MCE distances itself from responsibility for the use of Chinese panels at the solar farms it’s responsible for financing. MCE claims that’s the responsibility of the contractors, not MCE specifications. MCE’s schedule-plagued, and now cancelled, 15 megawatt Rio Solar solar farm in Bakersfield was slated to use in excess of 62,000 Chinese solar panels that were also on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Chinese solar panel anti-dumping list.     

Before MCE launched into business, it claimed its benefit was redirecting Marin’s money from PG&E shareholders back to Marin.  It said nothing about supporting Chinese dumping and undermining the U.S. solar industry.  MCE’s money map now runs from Amsterdam (Shell) to Paris (EDF) to China (Trina). 

Opt out of MCE at 1-888-632-3674

Note 1:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/10/12/solyndra-files-1-5-billion-antitrust-suit-against-china-solar-companies/

Note 2: http://www.marinij.com/business/ci_21847310/marin-countys-largest-solar-power-project-begins-generating