US testing and certification firm Underwriters Laboratory (UL) has expanded the scope of its warning over the use of counterfeit safety marks on PV modules made by Florida-based Blue Chip Energy.
Last year, UL revealed that three modules produced by Blue Chip Energy under the brand Advanced Solar Photonics (ASP) were knowingly using fake UL safety markings.
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Now UL has warned the modules are still circulating nine months later, adding a fourth ASP module to its list of products made by the company apparently using counterfeit UL markings; in addition to ASP’s AP-240PK, AP-245MK and ASP-390M modules, UL said that the AP-250MK model bears similarly unverified markings.
The modules are known to have been sold through SunWorks Solar, a Florida-based distributor, though UL said they may have been sold through other companies. There is no suggestion SunWorks Solar was involved in the counterfeiting operation.
The revelation last year that ASP modules were using fake UL markings prompted a backlash against Blue Chip Energy that resulted in the company going out of business before it could fulfil promises it had made to replace any mislabled panels.
Installers who had unwittingly sold the counterfeit products were forced to replace customers’ equipment or refund them.
Writing in a blog at the time of Blue Chip’s demise last year, Ray Johnson, president and founder of Florida Solar One, an installation company based in the state, said:
“It’s a shame that this had to happen. So many consumers were duped – spending tens of thousands of dollars on Florida solar panels that never should have been manufactured, approved, or shipped.
“But despite all of the wasted time and money, I honestly believe Florida’s solar industry is stronger for it. Our community has sent a powerful message – to Blue Chip Energy and to any other solar PV manufacturers out there who hope to make easy profits by defrauding true believers in the clean energy economy.”