Failed US firm reaches settlement over mislabeling Chinese solar panels - report

Dallas solar manufacturer 1SolTech Inc has reached a deal with the Texas attorney general's office to settle a lawsuit for falsely labelling solar panels as made in the US, a Wall Street Journal blog said on Thursday.

The settlement calls for the firm to pay a USD-5-million (EUR 4.4m) civil penalty and restitution for customers of about USD 2.8 million. It needs to be approved by a bankruptcy judge.

The firm filed for bankruptcy and subsequently shut down after being sued in September 2013 for violating Texas' consumer-protection laws. It has admitted to purchasing Chinese panels and then reselling them as US-made by 1SolTech. Some were also wrongly labeled as fulfilling certain standards.

The sales of the company, which used a factory in Dallas, were hit even before the court case due to a flooding of the market by Chinese solar panels, according to court documents, cited by the article.

(USD1.0 = EUR 0.880)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!