Evergreen Solar, Inc. said Wednesday that shipments of solar panels for the first quarter dropped 62 percent from the fourth quarter amid slowing demand and increased supplies globally.As a result, the Marlborough, Mass.-based solar power technologies firm said its cash position is worse than expected following the shuttering of its factory in Devens, Mass., and noted that sales of solar panels are expected to be slow for the remainder of the year.
Evergreen reported that shipments for the first quarter were approximately 18 megawatts, compared to fourth-quarter shipments of approximately 47 megawatts.
Evergreen closed its $430 million Devens plant at the end of March and cut 800 of its 925 Massachusetts jobs, citing an inability to compete with low-cost Chinese manufacturers. The move came as the company ramped up production of photovoltaic wafers at a company-owned facility in China and outsourced panel assembly to the country.
It seems most solar in this country is being installed in the Western states right now and has not been a priority with the Northeast, even with the higher cost of energy. Most of the solar installs in Massachusetts are being done by municipalities; grant money, promised government rebates, union wage by law. I was wondering if any of you have solar, your thoughts on solar, or looked into adding a system be it water or PV? Like the electric car, my feeling is that people just can not afford the cost in this still down economy.
some solar facts
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