Solar Panel Failures Increase : What to Do?

I wonder how all this failure will turn out - maybe the failure rate will get worse and the manufacturers won't be able to pay the price of replacement? But not to worry, Mr Obama and the progressive socialists that brought us all this nightmare will have the taxpayer pick up the tab just like we all paid for the construction in the first place.

This could have other positive aspects as well - remember how the progressive political bundlers that were partners in all the failed solar adventures returned millions of tax dollars to the progressive Democrats during two election cycles? Here will be another chance to bundle more tax dollars that can be used to elect and reelect more progressives that will ensure more failures.

That sure sounds like a winner for our country, right? Nothing to see here, just vote like you always do, it always feels good when you don't have to think about do the right thing.

Solar Industry Anxious over Defective Panels
Source: Todd Woody, "Solar Industry Anxious over Defective Panels," New York Times, May 28, 2013.
June 5, 2013

The $77 billion solar industry is facing a quality crisis just as solar panels are on the verge of widespread adoption, says the New York Times.

No one is sure how pervasive the problem is. There are no industry-wide figures about defective solar panels. And when defects are discovered, confidentiality agreements often keep the manufacturer's identity secret, making accountability in the industry all the more difficult. Billions of dollars have financed solar installations, on the premise that solar panels will more than pay for themselves over a quarter century.
The quality concerns have emerged just after a surge in solar construction.

• In the United States, the Solar Energy Industries Association says that solar panel generating capacity exploded from 83 megawatts in 2003 to 7,266 megawatts in 2012, enough to power more than 1.2 million homes.
• Nearly half that capacity was installed in 2012 alone, meaning any significant problems may not become apparent for years.

Most of the concerns over quality center on China. After incurring billions of dollars in debt to accelerate production that has sent solar panel prices plunging since 2009, Chinese solar companies are under extreme pressure to cut costs.

• Chinese banks in March, for instance, forced solar energy company Suntech into bankruptcy.
• Until 2012, the company had been the world's biggest solar manufacturer.
• Executives at companies that inspect Chinese factories on behalf of developers and financiers say that over the last 18 months they have found that even the most reputable companies are substituting cheaper, untested materials.

All solar panels degrade and gradually generate less electricity over time.

• But a review of 30,000 installations in Europe by the German solar monitoring firm Meteocontrol found 80 percent were underperforming.
• Testing of six manufacturers' solar panels at two Spanish power plants by Enertis Solar in 2010 found defect rates as high as 34.5 percent.
• First Solar, one of the United States' biggest manufacturers, has set aside $271.2 million to cover the costs of replacing defective modules it made in 2008 and 2009.