President Solar to distribute Grape Solar panels

April 27, 2010

Virginia-based President Solar has been named as an exclusive distributor for solar photovoltaic panels made by Oregon company Grape Solar, Inc.

President Solar, which is based in Fairfax, Virginia, will be Grape Solar’s exclusive distributor in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Grape Solar’s Chinese-made panels are UL and CEC listed under the Grape Solar brand, and range from 175W to 280W.

President Solar will be making the panels available along with other name brands of inverters and mounting systems in its warehouse, which it said would reduce installers’ costs and wait times for equipment.

President Solar will offer delivery of entire solar systems to any job site, or enable installers to pick up the equipment from its warehouse.

“Logical”

Roy Dunbar, chairman of President Solar, said; “It is currently difficult for installers to get all the components to the job site in a predictable and timely manner. This partnership is a smart, logical step for all parties in the supply chain. Installers can now plan projects with greater precision and predictability.”

Steve Leighton, senior vice president of field operations with solar-systems installer Infinite Green Energy, said his company had started using Grape Solar panels because of their quality and pricing.

He said: “We are very excited that Grape Solar and other solar products are locally available and warehoused by President Solar. President Solar eliminates the need and hassle of multiple deliveries and added shipping costs. We can now save time and money.”

With federal, state and local rebates and incentives already available for home and business owners in the tri-state area, the companies said legislation proposed in Maryland would offer a Solar Renewable Energy Credit worth $350 per megawatt-hour of power generated.

The firms said that would put Maryland in the “top 10 solar states”.

“We expect the substantial, local incentives and rebates to generate strong potential growth for solar energy in the tri-state region in 2010 and for years to come,” said Ocean Yuan, president of Grape Solar.