solar panels eugene oregon
A Chinese startup vying for a piece of the U.S. solar market has landed in Eugene, hoping to become a national player in the state’s growing photovoltaic industry. Centron Solar, whose Web site went live Thursday morning, is moving fast to sell and distribute bargain-priced solar panels made in China to the U.S. market, expected to be the world’s next big solar player.
But the company didn’t even have a name until last month. It leased its Eugene headquarters and 25,000-square-foot warehouse within two weeks. Its first shipment of solar panels, worth $1 million, arrived from China just five days ago. The company, the brainchild of Eugene resident Ocean Yuan, is moving so fast that it caught state economic development officials — and potential competitor SolarWorld — by surprise.
With a mission to sell solar energy at $1 a watt within a few years, Centron represents the unconventional — and aggressive — tactics of Chinese suppliers, now driving competition in nearly all sectors of manufacturing. Chinese manufacturers are hungry to enter the U.S., which is expected to follow Europe’s lead in solar energy in the coming years. They are able to produce solar panels at lower costs than Americans or Europeans because of their low wages. And Centron promises that it can beat any price by at least 10 percent. In the solar industry, lowering costs for solar panels has become a race to get to grid parity, the point at which solar can produce power to compete with conventional fossil fuels. It’s typically been pegged at about $1 a watt, though it’s higher in some areas.
SolarWorld opened the United States’ largest solar plant on a 100-acre Hillsboro campus last fall, putting Oregon on the map. The company, with a strong reputation in the industry, is one of the older solar manufacturers. Yuan worked his way to becoming the general manager of large Chinese factories making electronic components for companies such as Motorola. After moving to Shenzhen for eight years, he decided he missed the U.S. When the job offer from Solarfun allowed him to relocate, he moved back to Eugene.
Bob Warren, business development officer for the state’s Business Oregon in Lane County, said he met with Yuan and some Chinese suppliers several months ago and at the time they had yet to form a concrete plan.
Centron didn’t ask the state for any tax incentives or grants in their startup, though if they locate a manufacturing facility in Eugene, they could qualify. Already, Centron has given samples of its panels to some installers, including the state’s largest solar contractor and designer Advanced Energy Systems, which is currently testing them.
About the Author:
China buyer’s agent. China sourcing agent.
http://www.cnbuyersagent.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Chinese startup based in Eugene wants to sell inexpensive solar panels in U.S
Solar Panels for CHS
|
|
Research may shed light on solar cells.(City/Region)(Creating more efficient photovoltaic panels is one aim of a project by UO and OSU scientists): An article from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
$9.95 This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on September 13, 2010. The length of the article is 552 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: Research may shed lig... |
