The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is renowned for conducting in-depth studies regarding the environmental and labor policy aspects of high tech manufacturers. In this year’s study of the top solar PV manufacturers, SunPower has ranked #2, and SolarWorld has ranked #4. We are proud to be SunPower Preferred Dealers and members of SolarWorld’s Authorized Dealer Network. Also of note, SunPower was recently the first pv manufacturer to receive certification from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute which I wrote about recently. https://powertripenergy.com/sunpower-achieves-cradle-to-cradle-product-certification/
Congratulations are in order for top-ranked Trina, and #3 rated Yingli – both top Chinese manufacturers. While we are not currently offering Chinese manufactured products, we respect these company’s commitment to environmental cleanliness despite the lack of environmental regulations in their country of origin. Norway’s REC, with a major presense in Moses Lake, WA, rounds out the top 5. Of note, all five members of the Top 5 are dedicated PV manufacturing companies, focusing entirely on one product, and bringing a philosophy of vertical integration to their process. This may indicate that the mindset and ethic of the corporate leadership has a holistic understanding of the whys behind the hows of solar.
Shame to Panasonic, Sharp, Samsung, and Hyundai – all major electronics manufacturers and major PV manufacturers on the global market who all scored near the bottom of the list. Get with the program!
What is the environmental score of your pv array? Read the full report at the link below, and heed the advice of the authors: “Use this scorecard to help choose a manufacturer that is committed to high environmental and worker safety standards for PV module manufacturing.” Hint: if you don’t know who made your cells, that may not be good.
8 KW SunPower pv array on shop in Sequim, June 2014